HEAVY SNOW CAUSES CHAOS
Commuters were forced to abandon their journeys, schools were closed and refuse collections delayed as Mitchelstown and the general surrounding area virtually ground to a halt as a result of one of the heaviest snowfalls for a number of years on Wednesday morning last.
The climbing lane of the Mitchelstown ring road became treacherous and was closed for a period when up to twenty cars became stuck in several inches of snow. This forced trucks and other vehicles to divert through the town causing heavy congestion.
Motorists and truck drivers also found great difficulty in negotiating Cahir Hill and conditions were reported as being particularly bad at the roundabout on the Ballyporeen Road which has been the source of controversy due a claimed lack of proper barriers on some sections of the road.
Many motorists, unable to negotiate hilly areas, had to take alternative routes and many work bound parents were engaged in a frantic search for childminders as schools throughout the area shut up shop for the day.
Border county areas of County Limerick were also very badly affected with snow up to six inches deep in places.
A truck slid into a side drain shortly before 8am on the Mitchelstown Ballylanders road causing minor disruption as traffic on that route slowed almost to a standstill.
Conditions were also reported as being ‘very bad’ in Araglin with traffic making slow progress in the area.
Fermoy seems to have escaped with just a sprinkling of snow.
Conditions improved somewhat as the day progressed. Children, overjoyed with the break from school, made snowmen on roadside gardens and weather forecasters were predicting frost and more adverse driving conditions up until this Friday night when temperatures are expected to rise.
Published:
Thursday 5th March 5:55pm
