A Status Yellow low temperature warning remains in place, and will be upgraded to Orange this evening.
Temperatures are below freezing for much of the country this afternoon, as the cold snap continues.
A Status Yellow warning for low temperature and ice remains in place, which will be upgraded to orange this evening.
Mullingar in Westmeath recorded the lowest temperature of the country last night at - 6.1 degrees.
That’s set to dip even further tonight with - 8 and even - 10 predicted for parts of the country.
Another orange warning for low temperatures and ice comes into effect at 6pm this evening until 11am tomorrow morning.
4,000 homes remain without power for a fourth day – mainly in Kerry, Limerick, Cork and Tipperary.
4,500 properties have no water, with Uisce Éireann warning up to 24,000 are at risk if water mains burst.
Some schools are still shut – others opened later than usual.
The cold snap is set to continue until Friday at least.
Saint Vincent De Paul says the cold weather is putting severe pressure on its funds.
It comes as the charity is giving double fuel allowances to ensure people have enough to heat their homes during this weeks cold snap.
It follows record levels of calls from families who struggled over the Christmas period.
The Civil Defence in Laois is warning while conditions may be improving, hazards can be hidden.
Civil Defence Officer in the county, Damien Dollard, says the force has seen between 9 and 18 volunteers per day called in to help:
Dairy farmers can face extra challenges while milking during the current freezing conditions, according to the Irish Farmers' Association.
IFA Chairperson in Laois, Henry Burns, says milking parlours run a lot of water:
Chairperson of the Irish Farmers' Association and from Ballinakill, Francie Gorman, says farmers need to take care of themselves during this time as well:
A Laois teacher is encouraging primary school students to make the most of their extra time off after Christmas.
Principal of Raheen National School, Niamh Campion, says many primary school children would have left their books in school over the break:
Gerry Garvey from SVP says it needs to ensure that it has enough funds to help struggling families over the next few months:
We're being advised to brace for an extremely cold night ahead - with lows of minus 8 forecast in places.
Severe frost, ice and freezing fog is expected, with people urged to avoid unnecessary travel.
A Status Orange low temperature and ice warning for every county except Donegal will come into place from 6pm, until 11am.
It's set to be the coldest night of the week so far, according to Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather:
Schools closures will continue into tomorrow across the midlands.
Schools in Portlaoise will largely be remaining shut for another day, including Portlaoise Educate Together NS, St Patick's National School Clough, LOETB Portlaoise Institute, LOETB Abbeyleix Further Education and Training Centre, St Colmans National School Stradbally and Holy Family Senior School Portlaoise.
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