Weather warning for snow and ice extended in Northern Ireland, but still likely to thaw out faster than rest of UK

Today 30 Northern Ireland schools across the Province were forced to close their doors to pupils due to adverse weather conditions, while yesterday there had only been seven primary school casualties in the north west.

It comes as the Met Office has issued a fresh warning of another 24 hours of snow and ice for the Province.

The yellow warning of wintry showers bringing further disruption from ice and snow had been due to end at noon today but has been extended until noon tomorrow (Thursday).

The forecaster said people in all six counties of Northern Ireland should expect some roads and railways to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services.

There was also a warning to be on the look out for icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.

The Department for Infrastructure said that the salting of roads on the scheduled road network began from 2pm onwards this afternoon.

NI Road Policing and Safety warned of hazardous driving conditions both today and tomorrow: "If driving, motorists are reminded to proceed carefully and at lower speeds bearing in mind the impact of this weather on stopping distances and braking.”

The Met Office said that temperatures could stay below average into next week in parts of the United Kingdom as the cold spell continues, but added that Northern Ireland could be thawing out sooner than most.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “This is a cold spell lasting around five to seven days so I think by the weekend if you’re living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you will feel it getting a bit milder – but it will remain cold in England and Wales. It may well take until the early part of next week for temperatures to return to normal across England and Wales.”

The Met Office said that it expects milder air to start moving in from Friday afternoon in Northern Ireland and Scotland.