Northern Ireland weather: Tonight to see deepest freeze of winter, says Met Office after Yellow Warning for ice
Northern Ireland is facing the deepest freeze of the winter tonight - with temperatures under -8C forecast.
A yellow warning for ice is in place for until 10am tomorrow, Friday, applying to counties Antrim, Down, Londonderry and Tyrone.
The Department for Infrastructure said it was salting the 4,300-mile scheduled network of roads across Northern Ireland from yesterday afternoon into this morning,
It urged road users to exercise caution when travelling, particularly when driving on untreated roads.
However, as of today, many pupils were celebrating, as 21 schools were closed due to adverse weather. Almost all of them were in Co Londonderry, with two in Co Tyrone and one each in counties Down and Fermanagh.
Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey told the News Letter that temperatures tonight are expected to be “quite widely -7C or -8C but with temperatures dropping lower in rural areas and over lying snow”.
The Met Office said that the UK forecast was for “another bitterly cold night, with a widespread hard frost expected across the UK” and that it was forecast to be “the coldest night of the winter”.
The mercury could dip as low as -16C over snow cover in the Highlands of Scotland and high ground in northern England.
Asked if this was also likely to be Northern Ireland's coldest night of the winter, she replied: “I would expect so”.
Temperatures hovered around low single figures for most towns across Northern Ireland today, she said, with some rural areas struggling to get above freezing.
Severe frost is expected in places again tonight, especially over snowy areas, with some freezing fog.
The lowest recorded overnight temperature for Northern Ireland is -18.7C at Castlederg in December 2010.
Co Londonderry seemed to be feeling the brunt of the cold today, with Derry City and Strabane District Council issuing a statement yesterday to warn that severe weather conditions were continuing to impact a range of its services.
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd today thanked everyone involved in the delivery of winter service, noting that his service teams were gritting some 4,300 miles of roads.
He said: “This has required the commitment of over 320 staff and 130 gritters and in theory this means that 28% of the road network is salted, directly benefiting around 80% of road users.”
He added: “We need to remember that these men and women leave their homes and families, often during the night, and are regularly the first to drive along untreated roads in difficult conditions.”
However, he added that this does not eliminate the risks and he urged people to be careful when driving, riding or cycling.
Yellow weather warnings for ice have been issued for the majority of Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as large parts of the east of England, until 10am.
A yellow warning for snow and ice in Scotland has also been extended until 10am, while warnings in the Republic of Ireland are also in place.