Ireland warns of strong winds, snow, ice

Stormy weather will develop on Wednesday on the Irish south and southwest coasts while a status orange snow and ice warning remains in place for County Donegal in the northwest, weathermen warned. A status orange wind warning is in place for counties like Wexford, Galway, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Waterford, where Met Eireann, the Irish national meteorological service, said westerly winds will reach mean speeds of 70km/h to 80km/h, with gusts of up to 130km/h Met Eireann has said the rainfall will serve to top up the already near capacity of Ireland's main rivers and still poses a major risk. This risk is heightened in slow moving rivers and particularly River Shannon. The Barrow, Nore, Suir, Slaney, Lee, and Blackwater rivers are also at very high levels and any additional rain can cause serious flooding. Meanwhile, in Donegal, Met Eireann said snow accumulations of 3-6cm are possible. A snow-ice warning was issued for western and southwestern counties, such as Longford, Westmeath, Cavan, Monaghan, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare and Kerry. Cold, wintry weather is expected with occasional heavy hail, sleet and snow showers likely. Snow accumulations of up to 3 cm are possible, especially on higher ground.