Unseasonal snow brings west to a halt

Date Published: 01-Dec-2010

PARTS of the West ground to a halt this week with the heavy snowfall of early Tuesday morning – on top of the weekend’s arctic conditions – leading to the closure of schools, traffic disruption and hardship for farmers across the county.

The snowfall, which had been predicted on Monday evening for the Dublin/Wicklow area, led to accumulations of six to eight inches in parts of Galway, with the eastern section of the county particularly badly hit.

Conditions even led to a major slowdown of traffic on the M6 motorway while commuters travelling from Tuam to Galway on Tuesday morning in cases endured journey times of well over two hours.

Many schools across the county ‘shut up shop’ on Tuesday due to the treacherous road conditions, with Gardai and the Road Safety Authority advising motorists not to travel on the roads, unless the journey was absolutely essential.

Gardai reported a whole series of accidents across the county but there were no serious injuries reported – most of them involved just ‘material damage’.

“It really does go to show that speed reduction can have a massive impact in terms of road safety. With the cold and icy conditions set to continue, we are advising motorists to slow down, stay well back from the vehicle in front of you, keep your windows clear and make sure that lights and tyres are in good shape,” said Sergeant Shane Cummins of Galway Garda Station.

When travel is required, motorists are advised – if at all possible – to stick to the main routes where salting and gritting is taking place on a daily basis.

See full story and more photos in this week’s Connacht Tribune.