Freezing temperatures and snow are bringing a bitterly cold end to February.
Here, we take a look at how wintry conditions have affected Ireland in the past:
– Forty-five cm of snow, the greatest depth recorded by Met Eireann, fell at Casement Aerodrome on New Year’s Eve in 1962. At the same location the biggest Christmas Day snowfall was recorded as 27cm deep in 2010.
– Fifty-five people were killed during a violent snowstorm on Valentine’s Day in in 1853 when the Queen Victoria ship struck rocks off Howth Head, Dublin
– In 1886, before systematic records began, a blizzard with snow up to 60cm deep is said to have struck Northern Ireland.
– The early part of 1947 was recorded as one of the most persistent cold spells of the century, with people reported to be skating on frozen ponds in February.
– Dublin airport saw 10 consecutive days of snow in February 1955.
– The winter of 1963 was the coldest of the 20th century, the forecaster said, as a large Scandinavian anticyclone brought easterly winds over Ireland.
– There was 75cm of snow measured in the Mourne Mountains, County Down on February 27 2001.
– The winter of 2009/10 was the coldest since 1962/63, with temperatures around two degrees below average.
(All information from Met Eireann)
