Snow and ice covered large parts of the north on Thursday as temperatures remained low, but the region faces further warnings in the days ahead for adverse weather.
Thursday was the coldest day of the icy spell that has affected the north for the last few days, with wintery showers and freezing temperatures continuing throughout the day.
The lowest recorded overnight temperature ahead of Thursday morning was -7.2C at Katesbridge in Co Down.
Another fall of snow making conditions worse on the roads here in Ballymena -4c pic.twitter.com/iW3NG1TwzA
— Eugene Diamond (@EDiamond136) January 18, 2024
Friday will see temperatures remain low and a Met Office yellow weather warning for ice is in place for the north until 10am.
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has also warned that the north’s roads network will remain “hazardous” for Friday as a result of minimal gritting, and ongoing industrial action.
Thursday’s large-scale industrial action by public sector workers meant gritting only took place on the M1 and M2 motorway, along with the A1 and the A4 roads.
A DfI spokesperson said gritting will resume “on a limited basis from early morning on Friday “.
“Again, gritting will be confined to the main roads only and drivers may still encounter some portions of their route that are gritted and some portions that are not,” the spokesperson said.
“Pedestrians should equally take great care when walking on footpaths.
“Road workers will remain on strike until Thursday 25 January which significantly restricts the volume of gritting that can be carried out from the 19-24 January and disruption should be expected until warmer weather arrives.”
Yellow warning of wind affecting Northern Ireland https://t.co/CquminC6Rc pic.twitter.com/NoNSrrmzQJ
— Met Office - Northern Ireland (@metofficeNI) January 17, 2024
Meanwhile, another yellow weather warning for wind is in place for the north for Sunday, with the Met Office extending the warning to 6am on Monday morning.
“Within the warning area, many places are likely to see southwesterly winds gust to around 50-60 mph and gusts may reach 60-70 mph for exposed locations,” a Met Office spokesperson said.
