Latest: Gardaí advise motorists to slow down amid hail shower warning
Gardaí are advising motorists to slow down this afternoon as Met Éireann is warning of hail showers.
Hail and thunder are likely in parts of the south and possibly over the east as well.
During a hail shower yesterday, Gardaí dealt with 12 incidents on the M7, M6, M8 and M18, involving 36 vehicles.
Cold and bright this afternoon, with scattered showers some heavy and of hail, mainly over the southern half of the country with the risk of isolated thunderstorms. Some sunny spells also especially in northern and northwestern counties. Afternoon highs of 6 to 9 degrees Celsius. pic.twitter.com/ulZfFDqiKM
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) March 30, 2018
Ann-Marie Donnellan from AA Roadwatch says the best thing you can do is pull in to a safe place.
She said: "If you can't do this, if you're on a motorway or not in a position to pull in then drive carefully.
"Your visibility, as well as the road conditions, are affected.
Slow down, leave extra space between yourself and the car infront and don't overtake.
Gardaí are warning of treacherous driving conditions as heavy showers, hail and thundery falls are expected in the south this afternoon.
Hail showers in particular will lead to difficult driving conditions and drivers are being urged to take care when driving as hail showers can be unpredicatable.
Cold this morning with remaining mist clearing&showers becoming fairly widespread, some will be very heavy & of hail with isolated thunderstorm esp in parts of the south later this afternoon. Good dry spells too with some sunny spells. Highest temperatures will range of 6 to 9°C.
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) March 30, 2018
Drivers are reminded that cruise control should be switched off when driving in hazardous weather conditions.
"Hailshowers pose significant risks to road users particularly on motorways," said Chief Superintendent Finbarr Murphy of the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau.
"Drivers on motorways need to be vigilant and ready to stop when and if necessary and they need to be able to stop the vehicle safely in order to avoid collisions.
"Hailshowers have resulted in multivehicle crashes recently. Please drive to the conditions, reduce your speed and increase your braking distance."
Easter weekend looks set to be a washout for large parts of the country.
Commuters woke up to hazardous driving conditions this morning due to a Status Yellow hail alert which was in place until 10am this morning.
This afternoon, parts of the south can expect more heavy hail showers along with isolated thunderstorms.
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) March 30, 2018
Tonight, temperatures will dip across the country once again although it is not expected to be as cold as last night with lowest temperatures of -1.
Easter Saturday looks to be the most settled day this bank holiday weekend with scattered showers but generally dry and bright with temperatures possibly reaching 10 degrees in the southwest.
Overnight and into Easter Sunday will see frost and icy conditions setting in with lowet temperatures of -3 to 1 degrees.
Rain will begin in the southwest of Munster and gradually move up through the country into south Leinster during the day.
Later on Sunday night, conditions will become wet and breezy nationwidr with some wintry falls possible in some areas.
Bank holiday Monday will bring heavy blustery rain with further threats of wintry falls but according to Met Eireann this remains uncertain at the moment.
The poor weather will continue into Tuesday with heavy showers and risk of hail and thunder in some parts of the country.
