New ice warning issued for Northern Ireland

A new weather warning for ice has been issued for parts of the north as conditions continue to cause disruption early on Thursday.

The Met Office announced that a yellow warning for ice will be in effect from 4pm on Thursday until 10am on Friday for counties Antrim, Derry, Down and Tyrone.

They are advising that scattered wintry showers could lead to some icy patches and that isolated snow showers are possible.

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“Scattered wintry showers on Thursday evening will slowly fade overnight, leading to the risk of icy patches on untreated surfaces as temperatures fall below freezing,” a spokesperson said.

The latest warning comes as number of schools announced they were closed on Thursday as cold weather continued to cause disruption across the north.

Overnight, the Met Office had issued weather warnings for snow and ice as well as freezing fog, which had both ended by 11am.

The conditions resulted in a third consecutive day of school closures as most pupils were due to return to the classroom for their first full week of classes after Christmas.

According to the NI Direct Website (as of 8.40am), most of the school closures are in Co Derry.

Ballougry Primary School, Greenhaw Primary School, Ashlea Primary School, St Brigid’s Primary School, St Oliver Plunkett Primary School Strathfoyle, Oakgrove Integrated Primary School and Nursery, St Patrick’s and St Brigid’s College, St Joseph’s Boys’ School, Rossmar School, Foyle College and Hazelbank Primary School are all closed.

In Co Tyrone, Artigarvan Primary School, Bready Jubilee Primary School are also closed due to the weather.

Meanwhile, Donaghey Primary School and Windsor Hill Primary School have had to close due to having no heating.

The weather continued to impact travel on Thursday morning and police urged road users to take care when driving.

“Motorists, due to freezing conditions and heavy fog in places this morning, please reduce your speed, keep a safe distance from the car in front and drive to suit the conditions,” a spokesperson said.

Public transport was also affected – Translink advised users to expect delays and disruption, while adding that some bus routes on untreated roads would not be served on Thursday morning.

Travellers are advised to continue to check for updates on services.

In the Republic, the status orange warning for ice and low temperature will remain in place until 11am on Thursday for most parts of Ireland.

A yellow warning for low temperature will remain thereafter until midday on Friday before temperatures are expected to rise over the weekend.