A red weather warning has been issued for the whole country

The red snow-ice warning has been issued to cover all of Ireland.

Met Éireann forecasters issued the high-level alert, warning of "blizzard conditions" in the southern areas of the country on Thursday afternoon. The caution begins at 11pm on Wednesday at will last until 3pm on Friday. The warning reads:

"Further heavy snow showers will bring accumulations of significant levels with all areas at risk. "Blizzard conditions will develop from the south Thursday afternoon and evening as heavy snow and strong easterly winds bring snow drifts northwards over the country. Eastern and southern coastal counties will be worst affected."

https://twitter.com/MetEireann/status/968987011922132994 It comes as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar urged people to follow the safety warnings about the expected blizzard conditions, urging people to stay indoors after 4pm on Thursday. Speaking at a news conference with the National Emergency Coordination Group this evening, The Irish Sun reports that he said:

“Our main concern is for the forecast of Thursday night and for Friday. “Storm Emma is coming up from the south and will meet polar air from the east, it’ll give rise to heavy snow falls and combine with winds of up to 100km/h. “These conditions will start at approximately 4pm tomorrow (Thursday) and spread northwards towards Leinster and Munster. “We will face extremely hazardous conditions and we anticipate exceptional blizzard-like conditions. “Having considered Met Eireann’s serious warning it is advised that people do not venture out of doors while the red level warning is in place. “We urge everyone, families, businesses, fisherman to heed this advice and to plan ahead for tomorrow’s red level warning.”