First flurries of snowfall in Limerick as weather is set to worsen

AS Storm Emma approaches, the first flurries of snowfall in Limerick have been reported with many people to social media to share photos and video.

A status orange weather alert is now in place for several counties on the east coast while a national status yellow weather advisory is in place for the whole country.

Several public events which had been due to take place in Limerick in the coming days have been cancelled with Met Éireann predicting the worst of the weather on Thursday and Friday.

Careers Day planned for Thurs 01 March has been postponed to Tuesday 13th March, 10am-2pm. Light flurry of snow this afternoon @teagasc pic.twitter.com/dVIHlIDezg

— Salesian Ag College (@SalesianAg) February 27, 2018

POSTPONED
We have postponed the Jim Kemmy remembrance event tonight due to weather conditions and safety of people travelling to and from the event. Apologies for inconvenience. To be rescheduled asap. #BeastFromTheEast #SafetyFirst @IrishGeorgian pic.twitter.com/EP8kO8T1iL

— IGS Limerick (@IGSLimerick) February 27, 2018

As the first flurries of snowfall arrived on Tuesday evening a number of fuel merchants reported there had been exceptional demand for coal and other fuels in recent days.

Several grocery and convenience stores said they had sold out of bread and other provisions as people were preparing for the worst.

#snow just started in Castletroy Limerick pic.twitter.com/C2USGCTVWx

— JJ Bowles Pub (@jjbowlespub) February 27, 2018

Lovely to have Shirley Keane working with our @IWorldAcademy second year #singers today, and outside #BeastFromTheEast ireland starting to sweep around @UL campus! pic.twitter.com/hb1E0mh8n7

— Hannah Fahey (@FaheyHannah) February 27, 2018

The #BeastFromTheEast has arrived! ❄️❄️ pic.twitter.com/jJWRdBTzDu

— Cori Calvert (@coriGES) February 27, 2018

It’s here! #snow #limerick #ireland #BeastFromTheEast ireland pic.twitter.com/qcjzKxsrx4

— mull2412 (@mull2412) February 27, 2018

ESB Networks has cancelled all outages scheduled for this week while schools and creches across Limerick are also closely monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Shannon Airport says any intending passengers should check with their airline if they are due to travel in the coming days.

"As the weather takes hold we would urge passengers, or those travelling to Shannon to collect passengers from, or bring them to the airport, to contact their relevant airline or check in on their website in advance of their journeys.  In the event that there are delays or changes to schedule, we will post same on our twitter account @shannonairport and on our website www.shannonairport.ie as soon as we are notified," he said.