Thousands across Cork woke up to some lovely blankets of snowfall today following a chilly night of freezing temps and heavy rain.
It seems parts of North and West Cork had the most luck, with many residents of Kanturk and Mallow sharing fab pics of snow covered houses, roads and fields this morning. And over the past few hours, we've seen some of the white stuff falling over Cork city as well as temps dropped to -1C during the poor weather.
There's been some light snowfall in parts of East Cork too, but sadly, not much is sticking on the ground due to the wet conditions. On the bright side though, there's still plenty building up on people's cars and rooftops - enough to build your own mini-snowman, if you're patient enough.
Cork is currently under a Status Orange Warning for Snow and Rain, which will last until 12pm today. A nationwide Ice Warning is also in effect, which will run until same time on Friday. Experts have warned that most of the heavy rain and snow from earlier will likely freeze later today, creating dangerous conditions on roads and slippery footpaths in urban areas.
County Council crews are continuing salting and gritting works on priority roads this morning. Snow ploughs have also been deployed where required, and all motorists are being urged to drive with extreme care, even on roads that have been treated.
The latest forecast from Met Éireann shows we're in for a chilly enough day today, with temps hitting a max of 3C in Cork city around 12pm. There'll be more freezing conditions again tonight with little change due on Friday - but the weather's set for a big shift moving into the weekend.
The national forecaster expects temperatures to rise back up to 13C on Saturday, with heavy rain expected straight through until early Sunday morning. Even more showers are expected to towards the end of the weekend, with long range forecasts showing a dry and mild start to Monday next week.
At least for now, it looks we won't be getting more snow anytime soon in the Rebel County.
You can check out the regional forecast for Munster below:
TODAY - Thursday 21st November
A very cold, wintry and treacherous start to Thursday with a dusting of snow starting out across many areas; frost and ice in places too. Spot flooding across southern fringes starting out, as heavy rain persists here, while rain will transition into sleet and snow across most other areas. Outbreaks of snow, sleet and rain will clear most areas by mid-morning, and southern counties by midday. While some sunny spells will develop, scattered wintry showers will follow into Atlantic counties. Icy stretches will linger through the day in place with maximum temperatures of just 1 to 4 degrees. Northeasterly winds will be rather brisk across southern counties starting out; light to moderate in strength elsewhere
TONIGHT
Tonight will be very cold with widespread frost and icy stretches. Some scattered wintry showers will feed in across the province, with further local dustings of snow in parts. Lowest temperatures of -4 to +1 degrees in moderate to fresh northwesterly winds.
TOMORROW - Friday 22nd November
Friday will be mostly dry with spells of sunshine but there will be a few wintry showers starting out and some lying snow in parts. Highest temperatures of 2 to 7 degrees, coldest inland, in just light westerly breezes.
National Outlook
OUTLOOK: Very unsettled this weekend, with wet and windy, possibly stormy conditions. Becoming milder however.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Turning very wet and windy with heavy rain extending from the southwest, accompanied by very strong and gusty southeasterly winds. Spot flooding is likely with some falls of sleet in places too, mainly across north and northwest counties. Lowest temperatures of 0 to 5 degrees, coldest across Ulster,
SATURDAY: A wet and windy day with widespread heavy rain, leading to localised flooding. Some lying snow is likely starting out across northern areas. While the winds ease off into the afternoon, and the rain will push off, a further band of rain will follow from the west. Noticeably milder with highest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees. Peak southerly winds will occur early on, backing southwesterly though the day. Wet and windy Saturday night with overnight lows of 8 to 10 degrees.
SUNDAY: Very windy or stormy with strong to gale force southwesterly winds. While many areas will remain dry with sunny spells, scattered heavy showers will occur too, the focus of these across Atlantic counties. Highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees. Very windy Sunday night with clear spells and heavy showers. Lows of 5 to 8 degrees.
MONDAY: A very blustery day with sunny spells scattered heavy showers merging to longer spells of rain across northern and western areas. Westerly winds will be fresh to strong and gusty. Cool with highs of 8 or 9 degrees generally.
