Snow and ice warning for Northern Ireland as Storm Jake due to sweep in

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings of snow, ice and wind around the north coast with forecasters saying icy roads could lead to travel disruption.

Met Eireann has issued a national warning for strong winds in the Republic from Tuesday night until Wednesday morning.

This meets the criteria for naming a storm – so Storm Jake has been born.

Met Office spokeswoman Emma Sharples said: “The weather warning for snow and ice starts for the north of the Province at 9pm on Tuesday and lasts until 10am on Wednesday.

“With increasingly colder air coming in, snow could be 5cm in most places but around 10cm more on higher ground.”

She added that “regardless of the snow risk there will still be some icy patches on roads and pavements, especially where it has not been treated which will create problems for the rush hour”. “Everywhere will see frequent showers during the night time period and there will be a cold, raw feeling on Wednesday with winds settling in, particularly in the afternoon which will not be pleasant.”

She encouraged people “to keep an eye on the weather warnings as they may change and snow is a fickle thing to forecast”.