A major snowstorm is set to hit Ireland within the next 24 hours, with parts of the country set to be covered by up to 10 inches of snow, according to the latest weather models. Record snow depths of 25cm or nearly 10 inches are forecast in parts of Clare tomorrow afternoon,

Weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued for Northern Ireland and began at 18:00 GMT on Tuesday and set to end at 10:00 on Wednesday. Wintry showers are expected to develop on Tuesday evening and continue overnight into Wednesday morning.

The forecaster has upgraded an earlier status yellow snow/ice warning for Munster and says heavy snowfall is now likely overnight and early on Thursday morning. The status orange warning for Limerick, Tipperary, Cork, Clare and Waterford is due to come into effect from midnight tonight and will remain valid until midday on Thursday.