joeSoap
20/01/2006, 9:40 AM
:eek: It's a chill wind that blows. . . freezing weather on the way as Siberian snap breezes in (Independent)
THE Big Chill is on the way as Ireland is to be hit by the tail end of the freeze sweeping Russia.
There, people's tears are freezing before they can fall and their breath is crystalising and actually falling to the ground.
Businesses were even ordered to close to conserve energy yesterday when temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius hit. At least 31 people have died from the cold spell.
From last night, Irish people will have noticed a nip in the air as we start to get some of the effects of the cold snap which started when Arctic air from Siberia swept over the western part of Russia.
"We will be getting the tail end of it in the coming days with that easterly Siberian wind coming in. This cold will be felt throughout Ireland," said Deirdre Lowe, a meteorologist with Met Eireann.
This would have seen temperatures dropping by around five degrees to seven degrees last night and getting colder over the next few days. However, there will be bright weather around with some sunshine to make it more bearable.
"Friday night will be frosty and there could still be some frost around on Saturday. However, it will be dry with sunshine.
On Sunday there will be a little bit of rain.
"But for the next week it will be mainly dry and cold and there will definitely be a chill in the air as we get some of the end of these Siberian winds," said Ms Lowe.
The change will be even more noticeable because of the current mild weather we are enjoying at the moment.
Temperatures for the past few days were between 12 and 14 degrees.
"This is very mild for this time of the year. Normally we are are around seven to nine degrees and that is what we will be going back down to today," she said, adding that it could drop much lower than that.
The mild weather was a result of tropical maritime air which has blown in over us for the past few days. It was coming in on a south westerly wind from the lower latitudes and the sea.
It was also caused by an area of high pressure around the Azores which was steering the pleasant weather our way.
THE Big Chill is on the way as Ireland is to be hit by the tail end of the freeze sweeping Russia.
There, people's tears are freezing before they can fall and their breath is crystalising and actually falling to the ground.
Businesses were even ordered to close to conserve energy yesterday when temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius hit. At least 31 people have died from the cold spell.
From last night, Irish people will have noticed a nip in the air as we start to get some of the effects of the cold snap which started when Arctic air from Siberia swept over the western part of Russia.
"We will be getting the tail end of it in the coming days with that easterly Siberian wind coming in. This cold will be felt throughout Ireland," said Deirdre Lowe, a meteorologist with Met Eireann.
This would have seen temperatures dropping by around five degrees to seven degrees last night and getting colder over the next few days. However, there will be bright weather around with some sunshine to make it more bearable.
"Friday night will be frosty and there could still be some frost around on Saturday. However, it will be dry with sunshine.
On Sunday there will be a little bit of rain.
"But for the next week it will be mainly dry and cold and there will definitely be a chill in the air as we get some of the end of these Siberian winds," said Ms Lowe.
The change will be even more noticeable because of the current mild weather we are enjoying at the moment.
Temperatures for the past few days were between 12 and 14 degrees.
"This is very mild for this time of the year. Normally we are are around seven to nine degrees and that is what we will be going back down to today," she said, adding that it could drop much lower than that.
The mild weather was a result of tropical maritime air which has blown in over us for the past few days. It was coming in on a south westerly wind from the lower latitudes and the sea.
It was also caused by an area of high pressure around the Azores which was steering the pleasant weather our way.