UPDATED: Red Alert: Knock Airport to close tomorrow



Update 5pm:

The North West is braced for the Storm Emma and a Red Alert remains in place in Sligo, Donegal and Leitrim.

North Donegal has been worst hit so far with members of the Defence Forces deployed in areas.

Donegal County Council is reporting that the road between Milford to Kerrykeel is almost impassible and is being gritted.

Leitrim County Council says the roads are being monitored but gritting will not take place during the red alert after 4pm to ensure the safety of crews.

In Sligo, the county has faired the best so far and the roads are being gritted again this evening.

Senior Engineer with the Roads Department at Sligo County Council Tom Brennan says a significant amount of gritting has taken place in the last 12 hours and they will continue to monitor the situation in the coming hours:

Irish Rail and Bus Eireann Services have all been cancelled for the rest of today but Bus Eireann says it hopes to be able to resume at least some services in Connaght and the North West tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Ireland West Airport Knock will close tomorrow.

In a statement this evening they state that due to severe weather conditions in both the UK and a RED warning alert in place in Ireland, Aer Lingus, Flybe and Ryanair have advised that all flights due to operate on Friday 2nd March have now been cancelled.As a result Ireland West Airport will be closed tomorrow, Friday 2nd March & will reopen for full operation, weather permitting, on Saturday morning at 07:00am.

Update 4pm: 

Ireland West Airport Knock Statement: 

Due to severe weather conditions in both the UK and a RED warning alert in place in Ireland,  Aer Lingus, Flybe and Ryanair have advised that all flights due to operate on Friday 2nd March have now been cancelled.

As a result Ireland West Airport will be closed tomorrow, Friday 2nd March & will reopen for full operation, weather permitting, on Saturday morning at 07:00am

For the latest and most up to date information we advise passengers to contact their respective airlines using the following links

Passengers are advised that If your flight is cancelled there are two options available to you to choose from. You can either apply for a refund or change your cancelled flight for free.

The airport will be updating its social media channels regularly over the coming days with the latest information also. Follow us on facebook.com/irelandwestknock or on twitter at @irelandwest

Update 3pm (1st March 2018):

From Ireland West Airport Knock:

Due to severe weather conditions in both the UK and a RED warning alert in place in Ireland,  Ryanair and Aer Lingus have advised that the following flights due to operate on Friday 2nd March have been cancelled.

  • 0840    FR6673 FROM LIVERPOOL AND FR6674 TO LIVERPOOL
  • 0935    FR805 FROM STANSTED AND FR806 TO STANSTED
  • 1110    FR1742 FROM EAST MIDLANDS AND FR1743 TO EAST MIDLANDS
  • 1125    FR8142 FROM LONDON LUTON AND FR8143 TO LONDON LUTON
  • 1430    EI911 FROM GATWICK AND EI912 TO GATWICK WITH AER LINGUS
  • 1715    FR807 FROM LONDON STANSTED AND FR808 TO LONDON STANSTED

We are awaiting information from Flybe for an updated status on their respective services tomorrow to and from Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham

For the latest and most up to date information we advise passengers to contact their respective airlines.

1pm update:

Statement on Status Red Level Weather Alert for Donegal County Council:

On foot of the status red level weather alert and taking into account the expected timeline for when #StormEmma will reach Donegal, Council offices including libraries will close from Thursday 1 March 2018 at 3pm and will remain closed to the public on Friday 2 March 2018.

The Council is asking all members of the public to follow the advice to avoid non-essential travel and remain indoors and to heed the advice from local and national media.   These updates are being carried on the Council’s social media outlets.

Essential and emergency response services will continue to be provided.

The Council may be contacted on the following numbers

·       074 9153900 until 5pm on Thursday 1 March 2018 and 9am to 5pm on Friday 2nd March

·       074 9172288 outside of these hours

Life threatening emergencies should be reported to the emergency services on 999 or 112.

You can keep up to date on road conditions via this app and by following Donegal County Council on Facebook or on Twitter @DonegalCouncil #StormEmma #BeastfromtheEast.

12 noon update:

SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL ROADS/WEATHER ALERT

Met Eireann has issued a Status Red severe weather warning for Storm Emma, with blizzard conditions expected that will result in significant accumulations of snow.

The public are being urged to stay indoors from 4pm today (Thursday) until 3pm tomorrow (Friday) and not to use the roads during this time period.

Sligo County Council Roads staff have been deployed to treat all  the main roads  in the county , 450KM of national, regional and a number of main urban roads.  However given the forecast of freezing temperatures and heavy snowfalls, it is to be expected that all roads may be in a hazardous condition.

Sligo County Council is also requesting people  to stay in touch with elderly neighbours and others in their community who may not have access to regular information on changing weather conditions.

Sligo County Council offices

Due to the national weather alert, all Sligo  County Council offices are closed on Thursday 1st March and Friday 2nd March,   and will re- open on Monday  5th March.

Our emergency numbers are as follows:

  •  Fire Services – 999 or 112

 

  • Sligo County Area Housing – 087 2600111

 

  • Sligo Urban Area (Housing – Roads) – 087 2600111

 

  • Sligo County Area (Roads) – 086 8569416

 

  • Water Services – Irish Water – 1850 278278

 

Leitrim County Council Update:

A status red snow and ice weather warning is in place for the entire County of Leitrim.  Members of the public are advised to adhere to all warnings issued at a national level and to stay indoors during the severe weather red alert period.

All treated roads currently remain passable.  Gritting crews will be dispatched again at 12 noon today. No gritting activity will be undertaken during the severe weather red alert period.

All offices, libraries and civic amenity recycling facilities will be closed from 12.30pm today and will remain closed on Friday 2nd March and Saturday 3rd March.

Leitrim County Council will continue to monitor weather conditions and respond as required.

While the Council does not operate an out of office hours services the hotline number (071 96 50432) will be monitored periodically and urgent messages will be dealt with.

Details also available on the Council’s website www.leitrimcoco.ie and facebook page.

11:30am update:

HSE CHO 1 Community Healthcare Services 

All HSE Community Outpatient and Day Care Service appointments across Community Healthcare Organisation Area 1 Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo are cancelled for 
today Thursday 1st March and Friday 2nd March due to the red status weather warning. 

If patients have any queries please contact the relevant HSE service directly. 
  
Only the most essential homecare and community nursing services are being prioritised for delivery to older people and people with disabilities.  Every effort is being made to maintain critical services in the home to complex paediatric cases and adults with high dependency.   

All public residential hospitals and units for the elderly, disabled and those with a mental health condition remain open however staffing these services is challenging in such conditions. 

The HSE Crisis Management Team for Community Healthcare Organisation Area 1 is in full operational mode and will convene again later today.  Our clear message is Stay in, Stay Safe and makes any essential arrangements you need this morning including checking on vulnerable family or neighbours.  Do not travel out of shelter from Mid Afternoon today.  

The HSE would like to reassure the public that we are doing everything possible to maintain all essential services; particularly services to vulnerable people at home in the community. The situation is being closely monitored and further updates will be issued. 

As part of the on-going preparations, the HSE remains in constant contact and active engagement with all other relevant agencies, and we would like to thank them for their continued work and support.  The HSE will be monitoring updates from Met Éireann and the Office of Emergency Planning and advises that hospital and community healthcare services are working to ensure safe delivery of services for the public. 

11am update:

Letterkenny University Hospital statement on status red weather warning01 March 2018

Following the upgrade of the weather warning last night by Met Eireann to Status Red for the entire country today (Thursday March 1st), Letterkenny University Hospital (LUH) is now cancelling routine Day Surgery and outpatient appointments today and tomorrow (Friday 2nd).

Patients for dialysis continue to be treated and it is anticipated will continue to be treated today and tomorrow. The hospital is contacting Renal patients directly to make arrangements for their dialysis and if any dialysis patients have any queries they should contact the Dialysis Unit on 074 9123544.

Patients for Haematology Oncology Day Treatments will continue to be treated today and the situation remains under review for tomorrow and the hospital will contact the patients directly. Any patients with any queries regarding their treatment should contact the Haematology Oncology Day Unit directly.

Patients should be advised that if they do attend the hospital today for a clinic appointment they will be seen.

The hospital’s Emergency Department remain open 24/7 but continue to be busy and we expect difficulties around discharge planning as a consequence of the adverse conditions. We would encourage people to consider all options available to them for their healthcare needs and to protect the ED for those most seriously ill as delays can be expected.

We would ask that patients who are being discharged today are collected from the hospital as early as possible to avoid travelling during the worsening conditions forecast for this afternoon

LUH is working closely with colleagues in the Community Health Organisations and with the National Ambulance Service.

Keep up to date with @HSELive and @saoltagroup on Twitter and  www.hse.ie/weatherwarning or  www.saolta.ie for all the latest information regarding health services.

Sligo University Hospital statement relating to status red weather warning: 01 March 2018

Following the upgrade of the weather warning last night by Met Eireann to Status Red for the entire country today (Thursday March 1st), Sligo University Hospital (SUH) has cancelled routine electives and outpatient appointments today and tomorrow (Friday 2nd ). This includes ante-natal clinics due to take place today in Ballyshannon and Carrickonshannon.

We will continue to do everything possible to maintain all essential services to patients receiving planned cancer and renal treatments but please contact the hospital directly at 071-9171111 if you have any concerns.  All appointments cancelled during the period will be rescheduled and patients will be advised of their new appointment by their hospital.

Patients should be advised that if they do attend the hospital this morning, Thursday, for a clinic appointment they will be seen.

The hospital’s Emergency Department remains open 24/7 but continue to be busy and we may experience difficulties regarding discharges over the next two days as a consequence of the adverse conditions. We would encourage people to consider all options available to them for their healthcare needs and to protect the ED for those most seriously ill.

We would ask that patients who are being discharged today are collected from the hospital as early as possible to avoid travelling during the worsening conditions forecast for this afternoon

SUH is working closely with colleagues in the Community Health Organisations and with the National Ambulance Service.

Keep up to date with @HSELive and @saoltagroup on Twitter and visit www.hse.ie/weatherwarning or www.saolta.ie for all the latest information regarding health services.

10:30am:

All offices, libraries and facilities of Leitrim County Council will close from 12.30 p.m. this afternoon until Monday morning at 9.00 p.m

Offices and operations of Leitrim Development Company are closed for today due to the countrywide red weather alert. Take care.

10am update:

People collecting their pensions can do so at their local post office in the North West before 1pm today.

But all post offices will be closed after lunch until Monday.

Claudia McGovern, post mistress at Collooney Post Office says it’s important people are aware of disruption to services especially the elderly to ensure they are not stuck over the weekend:

Schools and third level colleges remain closed and Bus Eireann services are cancelled.

While the last train will leave from Sligo train station at 11am this morning.

Ireland West Airport Knock is open and fully operational this morning.

In a statement the airport says that Ryanair expects to operate all flights this morning but there may be some delays and passengers are advised to check your airlines website for the latest.

The airport says it has lots of bread and milk too!

Marts Update:

Some Marts in the region are also affected by the weather.

The mart in Ballymote is cancelled this morning and Mohill mart is also cancelled on Saturday.

However, the Manorhamilton mart went ahead last night and a decision on the Donegal town mart will be made tomorrow.

The Enniskillen mart is also going ahead today.

Stephen Blewitt, general manager of the Aurivo Agri-business says their milk collections are going ahead at present and will be reviewed later.

They will also review plans for the Balla mart later:

Meanwhile, the Homeland Stores will close at half past three today.

Banks: 

AIB and Bank of Ireland say they are closed today and tomorrow.

Shops: 

Lidl: ‘On the back of the extended Government advice to stay indoors, which now applies to the whole of the Republic of Ireland, we will extend the previously communicated closures in Leinster and Munster to the rest of the Republic of Ireland. All stores will now be closed from 3pm today until Friday afternoon. 
Regional management may make decisions to extend these closures at local level depending on the weather conditions in their area.’

Quayside Shopping Centre Sligo: ‘Following the status red weather warning, we have made the decision to close the Shopping Centre from 2pm today.  At the moment, the warning is in place until 3pm tomorrow so in the interest of staff safety, the centre will remain closed during this time. This however is subject to change pending weather updates. 

Dunnes in Sligo is closed. 

Specific Advisories 9:30am: 

Ireland West Airport Knock:

The airport is open and fully operational this morning. Ryanair expects to operate all flights this morning however there may be some delays. Passengers are advised to take extra care when travelling to the airport today and for the latest flight information visithttps://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/travel-updates – oh and we have plenty of bread and milk here too!

The following flights are due to operate as normal today but with possible delays

  • Flight FR805 & FR806 to and from London Stansted
  • Flight FR8142 & FR8143 to and from London Luton
  • Flight FR2358 & FR2359 to and from Lanzarote
  • Flight FR6673 & FR6674 to and from Liverpool

 

Specific Advisories 8am:

CLOSURE OF REHAB GROUP SERVICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY DUE TO SNOW: March 1st

As a result of Met Éireann extending the Status Red weather warning to nationwide until Friday at 3pm, all RehabCare, National Learning Network (NLN) and Rehab Enterprises services in every county will remain closed for the rest of the week.

We are closely monitoring the weather warnings which are being issued by Met Éireann, as well as communications from the National Emergency Co-ordination Committee.

We will update latest information on our social media accounts and website.

Specific Advisories 7:30am:

CLOSURE OF SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL OFFICES THURSDAY 1ST MARCH

Due to the issue of a nationwide Status Red weather alert, all Sligo County Council offices will be closed on Thursday 1st March and staff have been notified  not travel to work, with the exception of staff required for the provision of essential/emergency services.

A meeting of the Council’s Emergency Coordination Group will take place at 9am today, following which further notice will issue

Gardai:

Garda: Countrywide Red Severe Weather Forecast February/March 2018
Level: Red

A countrywide level Red alert was issued by Met Eireann on the 28th February 2018.

Further heavy snow showers will bring accumulations of significant levels with all areas at risk.

Blizzard conditions will develop from the south Thursday afternoon and evening as heavy snow and strong easterly winds bring snow drifts northwards over the country. Eastern and southern costal counties will be worst affected.

Valid from 23.00hrs Wednesday to 15.00hrs Friday the 2nd of March

Gardaí are advising motorist and all road users to use caution on our roads.

Leave sufficient room between you and the car in front and drive within a speed where you can stop in time.

See Twitter/Facebook for further details throughout the day.
http://tinyurl.com/y7jx7bhq

Bus Éireann cancel all services on Thursday, March 1

Bus Èireann wish to advise that all road passenger and school transport services are cancelled today Thursday, March 1 due to a nationwide Status Red weather warning.
This includes school transport services, our nationwide network & Eurolines services. We will review the situation for tomorrow later on today, but significant disruption is likely then too. All school transport services will remain off in accordance with our red alert policy.
Please see www.buseireann.ie for updates, Twitter @buseireann and @ExpresswayIRE or call 1850 836611.

7am update:

A status red snow and ice warning is in place nationwide – with people being warned to stay indoors from 4PM.

Last night Met Eireann updated the red alert to include all counties, until tomorrow afternoon.

Further snow showers are expected this morning, with Storm Emma bringing blizzard like conditions this afternoon

All schools, colleges and third level institutions nationwide will be closed today and tomorrow.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is warning people not to take any chances.

Public transport is expected to come to a standstill today.

Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus have cancelled all services.

The Luas is running limited trams this morning and will stop completely at midday.

Irish Rail is operating for now but it warns there are alterations, some cancellations and people can expect delays.

Irish Rail have informed Ocean FM that all services from Sligo will end after the 11am service leaves this morning.

Anyone heading to the airport is advised to contact their airline before leaving the house.

For the latest you can keep up to date on our facebook and twitter pages throughout the day @oceanfmireland and facebook.ie/oceanfmireland.



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