Severe Weather Snow / Ice Weds 28 FEB ( Onwards ) ** READ MOD NOTE POST#1**

Charles Babbage

Why is everyone claiming the 1982 temperature figure was wrong, it is right there on the met.ie website
Lowest grass minimum temperature:-19.6°C at Glasnevin, Dublin on 12th January 1982

1982 had it all. No real warning and no preparation, heavy snow for 24 hours then a serious freeze with canals and lakes frozen, á la 2010 and then quite a quick thaw after a week.

sryanbruen

Charles Babbage wrote: »

Why is everyone claiming the 1982 temperature figure was wrong, it is right there on the met.ie website
Lowest grass minimum temperature:-19.6°C at Glasnevin, Dublin on 12th January 1982

1982 had it all. No real warning and no preparation, heavy snow for 24 hours then a serious freeze with canals and lakes frozen, á la 2010.

Ah, grass minimum!

See there's the confusion solved.

We're talking about air minimum temperatures.

Sierra Oscar

The rain is coming down in D7 now, a lot of the remaining snow around me will be gone by morning if it keeps up.

Awaaf

Very light intermittent rain in Deansgrange but a major thaw underway with a lot of surface water.

snowgal

wakka12 wrote: »

I think the uselessness of snow infrastructure in ireland is over exaggerated, I think a few snow ploughs would be well worth the investment..there is on average probably disruptive snow every 4-5 years and it costs a lot to the economy to have a country come to standstill and I think costs more than the investment in snow removal infrastructure

Yes but you know I genuinely think a lot of us actually like the 'mad weather, what's gonna happen, day off work' excitement in this country, it's in the Irish veins! 😄 If we were too organised with ploughs etc. We wouldn't have these great threads! We like weather drama.....a lot! We love giving out about it all but really we're only wish in for it 😜

Oops69

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

The rain is coming down in D7 now, a lot of the remaining snow around me will be gone by morning if it keeps up.

great , it'll save me a job shovelling my car out tomorrow tomorrow , the last 4 days were gloriously epic and simply wonderful ... but I need to earn some money now .

MJohnston

wakka12 wrote: »

I think the uselessness of snow infrastructure in ireland is over exaggerated, I think a few snow ploughs would be well worth the investment..there is on average probably disruptive snow every 4-5 years and it costs a lot to the economy to have a country come to standstill and I think costs more than the investment in snow removal infrastructure

In fairness, I also think the failure of our snow removal infrastructure and preparation infrastructure is overstated too. My wife's German, she said that the clearance of the roads here is pretty much the same as what she'd expect in Germany - and to be clear we walked from our residential street in Cabra, down to Connaught Street, Prospect Road, North Circular, Cabra Road. Of those, our street was in an awful state, no clearance at all, but all of the other roads were great - certainly there was snow still pilled around parked cars, but the lanes of the road were completely clear and ice/snow free. It was the same over the last couple of days.

So we've obviously had a fleet of gritters and maybe even ploughs doing their jobs constantly on these main arteries. This is exactly what my wife says happens in Germany - they don't have any authorities clearing side streets either.

The one thing they do have is local laws which enforce self-cleanup. So you have to sweep at the very least the front pavement outside your house, but in some places you also have to help sweep the roads. In the region she's from, you'd be fined if you hadn't done it before 9am, every day! I know the same is also true in particular US cities and various other countries too.

But the question is whether this is the right idea in countries and areas where you don't have regular snowfalls. For one, this forces everyone to purchase snow clearing equipment that they might never need, and it's also just a tremendous shift in behaviour that would be really difficult to enforce.

wakka12

snowgal wrote: »

Yes but you know I genuinely think a lot of us actually like the 'mad weather, what's gonna happen, day off work' excitement in this country, it's in the Irish veins! 😄 If we were too organised with ploughs etc. We wouldn't have these great threads! We like weather drama.....a lot! We love giving out about it all but really we're only wish in for it 😜

I totally agree tbh..I think thats why I love snow here so much, any snowfalls that happened in my home in dublin have been so much more exciting than seeing snow in a city in europe that keeps functioning when its snowing heavily!

_Dara_

Look at how mank it is outside now. What a difference 24 hours make. Thawing is the worst. Wish that phase could be skipped.

wakka12

Ugh just looked out my window..black/grey rooves back, black tarmac roads, concrete buildings, grey foot paths..snow makes everything so much brighter and prettier

Macy0161

wakka12 wrote:

I think the uselessness of snow infrastructure in ireland is over exaggerated, I think a few snow ploughs would be well worth the investment..there is on average probably disruptive snow every 4-5 years and it costs a lot to the economy to have a country come to standstill and I think costs more than the investment in snow removal infrastructure

The gritters here in Wicklow have the plough attachment all winter. I don't think a lack of equipment was the issue this time - it was the constant snow, and constant drifting.

I've been living in the Wicklow mountains 15 years now - there's no comparison to disruption then compared to now. Regional roads are kept clear, or cleared quickly. Since 2010 we do cope fine with normal winter weather, including snow. This wasn't normal winter weather.

Loughc

wakka12 wrote: »

Ugh just looked out my window..black/grey rooves back, black tarmac roads, concrete buildings, grey foot paths..snow makes everything so much brighter and prettier

Completely agree. Ever notice how much brighter the nights are with snow?

Mike Litoris

Looks like rain in D10.

stevenup7002

wakka12 wrote: »

I think the uselessness of snow infrastructure in ireland is over exaggerated, I think a few snow ploughs would be well worth the investment..there is on average probably disruptive snow every 4-5 years and it costs a lot to the economy to have a country come to standstill and I think costs more than the investment in snow removal infrastructure

Honestly, I watched a JCB flying up and down the road this morning clearing snow. Road went from about 20cm to completely cleared in about 5 minutes.

ZX7R

Have to say, I am surprised and happy at such a quick response by the council, army, contractors and the farmers, at clearing the roads in my area, they have done a super job, not like in 2010 once a snow plow went over the roads no gritting, definitely changes have been made having the crisis group seems to have made a positive difference this time

Loughc

Loughc wrote: »

Completely agree. Ever notice how much brighter the nights are with snow?

Its nuts, like cloud cover shies last 2 nights but could see clearer in the country then on a cleared sky full moon night its pretty amazing

josip

MrDerp wrote: »

I was in Stockholm for this:
https://www.thelocal.se/20161110/stockholm-just-set-a-new-snow-record

I got up in the morning and a Swedish colleague rang me advising me to take the metro instead of a taxi. Got to a client site and the most anyone was late for a workshop was 20 minutes. Took the Arlanda express on plowed lines and got to the airport on time.

There was constant snow and my plane needed a second deicing but got away just 55 minutes late and made my connecting flight home in Frankfurt.

It’s all relative to climate and infrastructure, and many people were caught out, but they’re well prepared to carry on within the city because of metro and the airport being equipped to manage without too many cancelled flights.

I was like a gom in work shoes sliding around in flat soles with wet socks but even I got there

And I was in Gothenburg for this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_Storm_of_1995
Because it happened early in the winter they were caught unprepared.
When I called reception for a taxi to Ericsson, they were shocked and said, 'but, but it's a blizzard outside, nobody is permitted to leave the hotel".
Nobody came into the office that day. Most roads were blocked with snow.
The following day, the airport was still closed, only a handful of taxis were operating.
The Swedes don't always triumph over Mother Nature.

The only difference between there then and here now, was coming back up the main street the Thursday night to the hotel. It was -14C and the wind speed was 20m/s. Impossible to face into it, we had to walk backwards for 15 minutes to get home.

Elmer Blooker

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

The rain is coming down in D7 now, a lot of the remaining snow around me will be gone by morning if it keeps up.

The temperature is only 1.5c now so a very slow thaw overnight.
The rain is very light at the moment and it takes heavy rain to wash away snow.

nacho libre

Larbre34 wrote: »

Still hard to believe the last 5 days happened. How many near misses have been debated in this place over the years only for the whole Country to get nothing short of blasted.

Effects on my own house on the edge of Dublin and Meath were awesome enough, but i spoke to family in on the coast near Wexford town and it was simply historic, snow of a scale never seen in living memory.

This event was probably a good balance, a record breaker, a visual feast, a time of fun memories for the kids of this generation, but not a deep freeze like the 2010 events. If this was January 3rd and not March 3rd, I dread to think of the crippling effect it could have had on the whole island for weeks, we are fortunate to be looking at a fairly quick thaw. But, as it was, the Community came together and the arms of the state acted well and we didn't loose a single person, at the time of writing and hopefully farms and businesses and travel will recover quickly and move forward.

So, only -19.5C from 1982 lives to fight another day, and I suspect even the snow bunnies here might not want to see that day for another 36 years.

I hope we don't have to wait another 36 years:(. I'd be happy if we saw major snow events at least once every two years. I think the positives from this week outweight the negatives. Our often maligned state institutions, such as the army, did a great job. People were kinder to each other and helped each other out. We had some muppets, but they were a minority.

Children- both young and old(- have memories they can cherish for many years to come. I know there was hardship too, but i think many of these people will have a twinkle in their eye when they recollect the events of March 2018 in years to come. Plus we will have a baby boom in nine months time, that must be another plus with an ageing population...

Jeff2

It's raining a little now in north Dublin city but the snow is going away fast.

Donegal Storm

Same story here in Kildare, I live on an L road so far from priority yet its been passable since yesterday morning with a JCB up and down every few hours. The lane to the house hasn't been cleared but I don't expect it to be and have no issue that it isn't. A lot of lessons learnt in 2010 I think and its definitely shown this week, no chaos on the roads and no repeat of scenes in the UK where thousands had to spend the night in their cars all across the country.

I find the blanket 'stay indoors' warnings and total shut downs a bit over the top and too nanny state-like but considering the severity of the event and the lack of experience and equipment in dealing with it I think an excellent job has been done all round

wakka12

nacho libre wrote: »

I hope we don't have to wait another 36 years:(. I'd be happy if we saw major snow events at least once every two years. I think the positives from this week outweight the negatives. Our often maligned state institutions, such as the army, did a great job. People were kinder to each other and helped each other out. We had some muppets, but they were a minority.

Children- both young and old(- have memories they can cherish for many years to come. I know there was hardship too, but i think many of these people will have a twinkle in their eye when they recollect the events of March 2018 in years to come. Plus we will have a baby boom in nine months time, that must be another plus with an ageing population...

Yeh 8 years was way too long a wait for our second cold spell after 2010 Heres hoping the next isn't nearly as long away
It doesnt even have to be storms or streamers for me..Id love even just a cover of 3 or so inches for a couple weeks during winter to make everything pretty and white..cold temps hovering around 0- minus 2 so it doesnt melt ..an inch top ups every few days
I guess Im just hoping for a different climate really:pac:

200motels

TBH I’m glad it’s nearly over, it was a joy to behold, I’ve waited 36 years for this one and it was as bad if not worse than 82.

_Dara_

Loughc wrote: »

Completely agree. Ever notice how much brighter the nights are with snow?

What was so magical about 2010 was how bright the countryside was on moonlight nights. I was living with my parents at the time in the rural west of Ireland. We actually got very little snow but what did fall stayed frozen on the ground for weeks. It was amazing to see the usually dark nighttime countryside illuminated on moonlit nights, to be able to see faraway hills. Even when there was no moon, it was quite bright. Irish snow is so often accompanied by overcast conditions so this was very special.

sdanseo

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Same story here in Kildare, I live on an L road so far from priority yet its been passable since yesterday morning with a JCB up and down every few hours. The lane to the house hasn't been cleared but I don't expect it to be and have no issue that it isn't. A lot of lessons learnt in 2010 I think and its definitely shown this week, no chaos on the roads and no repeat of scenes in the UK where thousands had to spend the night in their cars all across the country.

I find the blanket 'stay indoors' warnings and total shut downs a bit over the top and too nanny state-like but considering the severity of the event and the lack of experience and equipment in dealing with it I think an excellent job has been done all round

Have to agree about the lessons learned, the only county that hasn't appeared to deal with things well is Longford who stood down their Civil Defence because they weren't trained yet. It's bull**** like that which would make your blood boil.

As for the warnings.. posted some pics of the M1 five hours after it was live on the news and it was totally buried, meanwhile driving heavy snow in 50kt winds. It wasn't safe for the vast majority to be on the roads for the last few days and the shelter indoors warning only lasted 12 hours of the whole thing which was not excessive, and that's coming from the perspective of a coastal dweller who got one of the lowest accumulations in Leinster.

_Dara_

Jeff2 wrote: »

It's raining a little now in north Dublin city but the snow is going away fast.

Yup, the rain is really cutting right through it.

q85dw7osi4lebg

I know this is all nearly over but I've just been driving on the N2 from Collon to Slane (Meath) and it is down to 1 lane still in a lot of sections with 6 foot drifts on the southbound lane. No street lighting, no warnings, and blind going down the single lane in parts. I'd argue a red warning was more than required, for this county at least, given that is a national route.

Gonzo

thaw is really getting aggressive here now, can hear the water drops from the gutters everywhere now.

wakka12

Heavy rain D14. Wouldn't be surprised if snow is mostly gone by morning

beauf

Probably the warnings kept people off the roads, and allowed the now well equipped local authorities to get on with clearing roads.

Though I couldn't use the cleared main roads as I couldn't get to them.