Motorists, schools hope for spell of mild weather

The cold snap which plunged Westmeath into chaos last week continued this week, with schools, sporting and other public events continuing to suffer, and motorists negotiating their way through hazardous conditions.Another blast of snow on Monday night, followed by an overnight freeze, added another layer to the mass of frozen slush and ice, which began to accumulate from Monday of last week.As of Tuesday, Westmeath County Council staff continued to work around the clock to ensure that roads, footpaths and essentials services are maintained as the cold snap continues.People are again urged to log on to www.westmeathcoco.ie to keep abreast of how they should protect their home water supply amid freezing temperatures.On Tuesday morning, the county's roads were described as “passable with extreme care”, with renewed snow falls, freezing fog and black ice adding to “treacherous conditions” on roads and footpaths.The Council's fleet of snow ploughs have been kept busy, and gritters have treated motorway stretches, as well as primary, secondary and regional roads, the main distributor road network in Mullingar Town, as well as all collector and access roads with steep gradients to housing estates.On the M4/N4 (Kinnegad-Mullingar-Longford) and M6/N6 (Kinnegad-Athlone), one lane of these motorway stretches were open to traffic as of Tuesday morning.Motorists are warned not to attempt to overtake other vehicles on these motorways, and to drive with extra care on any road, regardless of it being gritted. Westmeath County Council official Roibeard Ó Ceallaigh is happy to report that the salt shortages experienced last Christmas have not come back to haunt local authorities during this cold snap.Gritting schedules have proceeded as normal, and on Monday night, salt stocks in Mullingar were replenished with an additional ninety tonnes, with a similar amount of material arriving on Tuesday.The Council has also made an attempt to treat footpaths in Mullingar with small amounts of grit, although pedestrians are urged to take extra care while walking.Mr. Ó Ceallaigh said that the local authority works closely with the Gardaí and the HSE, with the Civil Defence assisting in the provision of public health services to elderly and vulnerable persons.People are asked to check in on elderly neighbours, and people in need of urgent assistance should contact the emergency services by dialling 112 or 999.DifficultiesThe Council is making “every effort” to maintain uninterrupted water supplies, but admit that the cold snap has created two significant difficulties.Snow cover is making the identification and repair of leaks more difficult, while the lower than normal raw water temperature is restricting treated water output from the county's water plants.Householders are advised to conserve water, and not to run taps to stop freeze-ups, as this will result in depleted water supplies and cut-offs. Instead, you are asked to check all external pipes and taps for leakage, and to ensure that they are lagged sufficiently; the same goes for farmers, who should check and insulate all troughs and taps.Social impactMeanwhile, the social impact of the cold snap on community life in Westmeath remains evident, and acutely so in rural areas.Social and fundraising events in the run-up to Christmas have been postponed, and several schools across the county remained closed as of Tuesday morning.Many events have been rescheduled to take place next week, as people hope for a change in the weather.Milder temperatures and dry spells are expected between Thursday and Sunday, however, this could bring just a short respite, with forecasts of a return to Arctic conditions early next week.