Glenshane Barely Passable Amid Snowfalls

Overnight road hazards of frost and ice have swept across Northern Ireland behind a surprise fall of snow on Tuesday.

The continued cold snap has made for difficult driving conditions in the northwest, following earlier heavy snow on the Glenshane Pass yesterday which made the roads treacherous, being described as "very slippery, with packed ice under fallen snow".

Today, things remained very difficult with some cars stranded in heavy snow on the Glenshane Pass near Dungiven. However, by late afternoon on Wednesday, the road remained 'passable with care'.

The west is experiencing the worst of the weather with mid-Ulster, parts of east Tyrone and Londonderry, and the high ground right across the west seeing a fair amount of snow.

The continued freeze follows Tuesday temperatures across Northern Ireland that dropped to their lowest October level for more than 70 years.

Last night was very cold, with temperatures as low as -3C with some 120 road gritters in action to keep around 5,000 miles of NI road's usable this morning.

However, the wintry mix will turn to rain later.

(BMcC)