Severe Weather Information
During snow/ice and severe weather conditions, Fingal County Council has 185 staff available to deploy in snow and ice clearing operations.
This consists of 13 staff working on gritting of motorways and the main road network.
An additional 172 staff are deployed in different towns and areas across the county. These crews are using other machinery and are working in priority areas such as entrances to fire stations, railway stations, pedestrian crossing areas, access to transport nodes and bus shelters, entrances to housing estates, entrances to burial grounds and ice breaking in town centres/populated areas.
Our crews will also treat areas that fall outside these categories, but which are known from past experience to give rise to difficult driving/walking conditions due to gradients etc.
Salt supplies are adequate but must be carefully managed to ensure we can continue to deal with priority routes however long the cold weather continues. The NRA is working closely with local authorities to ensure this.
- Our salting/gritting operations will continue to give priority to national primary routes and major bus routes, to keep access to public transport hubs such as train stations and the airport. We will endeavour to treat as many roads on our Salting Routes as soon as possible. We have published a Prioritised List of Salting Routes with effect from 03rd December. This applies to the recent spell of severe weather.
WATER SERVICES
Water Services crews are on standby to deal with any problems caused by bursts/leaks in the water network. Any updates will be posted on our Water Emergency Page. A full list of Scheduled Night Time Shut Downs in Fingal is available online, and residents should check to see when/if their estate/street is included. We advise not running appliances such as dishwashers or washing machines during the restricted period.
WASTE COLLECTION
Our Waste Collection crews will endeavour to collect refuse as normal. In the event that we are unable to do so due to the weather conditions, we will return as soon as possible.
LIBRARIES
- Fingal Branch Libraries will reopen on Tuesday 4th January.
- Garristown Library is closed until further notice due to weather conditions. Mobile Libraries will not operate until further notice. Branch libraries will close at 5pm on Thursday 23rd December.
- Members can renew books/items online or return them to any other Fingal branch library.
- We will monitor the weather forecast and if there are any changes to library opening hours we will notify details here.
PITCHES
Check our Playability of Pitches listing for updates, or see Aertel Page 624
We are monitoring the Met Eireann weather forecast and will be ready to respond appropriately should there be any deterioration in the weather today and into tonight.
Updates will be posted on this page regularly, and you can follow us on Twitter (fingalcoco).
ENDS
Tips for Motorists/Pedestrians:
- Listen to local radio. Check Weather Forecast
- Be careful when walking or driving on compacted snow — it may have turned to ice.
- Check on vulnerable neighbours. Wear good footwear to avoid slips and dress appropriately. Avoid travelling in hazardous conditions. Stay off mountain roads
- If you have to make a journey when snow is forecast ,try to wait until the roads have been gritted before travelling. Drivers should adjust speed to suit the weather conditions. Black ice poses a particular hazard as it may not be visible to motorists and pedestrians.
- Allow extra time and drive with caution. Let someone know your route and when you expect to arrive.
- If possible, use public transport.
Tips for Householders and Businesses:
To avoid Frozen Pipes
- Wrap a towel around an outside tap. Leave a light on in the attic.
- Open Attic trap door to allow heat in. Leave heating on longer than normal.
- Place a piece of insulation e.g. carpet/matting over your external stopcock .
Clearing Snow
- We have been advised by the Department of Transport that people who clear snow outside their business premises or homes will not bring liability upon themselves provided they do not cause any risk in the manner by which they do so (i.e. by piling up cleared snow outside a neighbouring entrance, or causing an obstruction on a footpath).
Useful Links:
Five-day forecast from Met Eireann
Rainfall radar from Met Eireann
Road Weather Reports from the NRA
Latest traffic reports from AA Roadwatch
Advice on road safety during severe weather from RSA
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