Get ready for some oncoming cabin fever boys and gals, as it looks like the snow we're seeing this morning is nothing compared to what's in store from tomorrow.
With a Red Weather alert currently in place for Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow Louth and Meath thanks to the Beast from the East, Storm Emma is expected to bring up to 25cm of snow tomorrow.
Ireland's National Director of emergency planning, Sean Hogan, spoke on RTE's Morning Ireland this morning and said now is the time to prepare.
He said that "now is the time" to clear your driveways and paths before more snow comes and for people in red alert areas to "take action."
“Quite a lot of roads are still functioning,” he said. “People are able to travel… but they need to go much slower.
"There will be more snow during the day. It will freeze and it will be dangerous. Think carefully about driving.
“This is going to go on for a foreseeable number of days"
"We’re anticipating very difficult conditions on Thursday night with Storm Emma coming up from the home when allied with the snow, coming from the east. We’re anticipating very significant snow on Thursday night… we’ll have blizzard conditions which [we haven't seen since 1982]."
Yikes.
Protecting Homes from Sub-zero Temperatures
- Make sure that water pipes and water tanks in the attic are insulated with good quality lagging.
- Turn on taps regularly to make sure there’s a period flow of water through them
- If you’re going out for an extended period of time put your heating on a timer if possible – or perhaps ask a friend our neighbour to turn the heating on for an hour.
- Know where the stopcock that turns off the water is located and make sure it works.
- If a pipe bursts turn off the water at the stopcock, switch off central heating and any other water heating installations and open all taps to drain the system,
- Check the Exterior Walls of Your Home for Holes: Even small holes where cable wires or phone lines enter your home can be an entry point for freezing air. Purchase a tube of foam insulation and close them up. Then, use weather stripping to remedy any cracks around your doors.
- Keep Your Gutters Clean: Full gutters increase your chance of having ice form on your roof, and that's not something you want to mess with! Set aside some time to clean your gutters out before the freezing temperatures get here.
- If you have outdoor plumbing fixtures you should also tend to these to ensure they don’t freeze – drain outdoor taps & shut off water to these if possible, disconnect garden hoses. If you can it might be worthwhile insulating the outside tap pipes with towels.
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