Cars stuck in snow. (Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)
Ireland is bracing for on Thursday night as the country was under multiple weather warnings.
Every county is under either a Status Orange or and Ice warning until Friday at the earliest.
A Status Orange warning for extremely cold conditions with widespread severe frost, ice and lying snow will remain in effect until 11am on Thursday. Met Eireann has warned of dangerous travelling conditions on roads and underfoot, travel disruption and delays, and animal welfare issues.
Once the Orange warning lifts, a Status Yellow Low Temperature and Ice warning will be in effect until 12pm on Friday. However, conditions across the sea in Scotland could be even worse, according to Scottish Highland, Islands, Moray and Aberdeenshire Weather on Facebook.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen -20 used on the TV forecast, but it’s highly possible in sheltered glens. It certainly looks very cold Thursday and Friday night, I’ve been saying this for a while now.
“Lag them pipes and make sure your outside water supplies are turned off and taps left open,” they warned. One weather expert noted that we are seeing a “very strong polar vortex with very probable tropospheric coupling”.
The polar vortex is a large area of low-pressure and cold air surrounding the Earth’s poles. It weakens in summer and strengthens in winter, reports .
The polar vortex often expands in the northern hemisphere during winter, pushing cold air southward with the jet stream. This common occurrence is usually linked to significant Arctic air outbreaks.
A top weather expert also warned about an “Anticyclonic wave breaking (AWB) over Western Europe.” This suggests that much milder weather is coming as we head into next week.