Flights resume at Dublin Airport amid snow chaos

Flights into and out of Dublin Airport have resumed for the time being, as snow and ice continues to cause disruption across the UK and Ireland.

Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) closed the facility after 1200 GMT to allow teams to clear runway and taxi area.

It opened it again at 1840 GMT. A DAA spokesperson said up to 100 flights were affected by the closure on Thursday.

There has been minimal disruption at Belfast's two airports.

However, flights to London Gatwick and Edinburgh have been affected.

Passengers have been asked to check with airlines before setting out.

Belfast International Airport is some taking diverted air traffic bound for Dublin Airport.

By Thursday afternoon, two CityJet flight had arrived at the airport. Three Dublin-bound Aer Lingus aircraft from Barcelona, Berlin and Malaga are due to arrive on Thursday night.

On Wednesday, the airport accommodated eight diversions from Dublin.

'Stand-by'

Uel Hoey, Business Development Director at Belfast International said: "Weather-wise, we have managed to escape the worst of the Arctic weather enveloping a large part of Ireland, which means that we can cater for quite large numbers of diversions.

"As the second largest airport on the island, we have the space and the capacity to accommodate these aircraft without interrupting our normal day-to-day operations. We remain on stand-by to take further diversions."

The Consumer Council of Northern Ireland has encouraged passengers, hit by cancellations, to make sure they know their rights.

Scott Kennerley, Head of Transport at the Council, said: "Airlines have a responsibility to provide information and assistance to passengers. If this does not happen it is easy to understand why consumers get so frustrated when things go wrong.

"Passengers can request a free copy of Plane Facts from the Consumer Council by phoning 0800 121 6022."

City of Derry Airport is also open for business, but passengers have been warned to check with their airlines in case of problems elsewhere.

Mark Beattie from George Best Belfast City Airport said some flights had been affected because of bad weather elsewhere.

More snow is set to fall across Northern Ireland during rush hour on Friday morning and is expected to cause widespread chaos.

Up to 3cm to 6cm is likely and temperatures are expected to drop as low as -10C in Western areas on Thursday night.

The Road Service has asked drivers not to make any unnecessary trips and to watch out for black ice. The area surrounding the Mourne Mountains is particularly treacherous.

from : http://www.bbc.co.uk

Snowstorm Minnesota

Snow man arrive watchout...... May God bless us....

Snowstorm causes 400 Minn. crashes; 2 die in Wis.

Parts of the Upper Midwest dug out from a heavy snowfall Saturday that caused more than 400 traffic accidents in Minnesota, and wintry conditions also were being blamed for a collision in northern Wisconsin that killed two people.
Nearly a foot of snow had fallen in parts of the Twin Cities area by Saturday evening, downing trees and causing sporadic power outages.
The storm that began late Friday night was blamed for a collision Saturday morning that killed both drivers and left a passenger hospitalized. The sheriff's department in Wisconsin's Bayfield County said the storm produced "rapidly deteriorating road conditions" that likely contributed to the crash.


Kevin Kraujalis of the National Weather Service's Duluth office estimated that Bayfield County had a couple of inches of snow on the ground when the collision occurred. The meteorologist said the county had about 5 inches as of 6 p.m. Saturday.
The Minnesota State Patrol responded to 401 crashes as of 4 p.m, with 45 of them involving minor injuries, Patrol Capt. Matt Langer said. There were no other immediate reports of fatalities or major injuries.


The storm dumped 11 inches of snow in parts of Eden Prairie, Minn., and 10 inches in the Forest Lake and Mankato areas, said Todd Krause, a federal meteorologist in Minneapolis. The major snowfall activity ended by early afternoon, and Sunday's forecast looked milder, he said.


"People will still see snowflakes across much of Minnesota (on Sunday) but it won't be adding up to anything," he said.
Jack Serier, a commander with the St. Paul Police Department, said officers dealt with 20 to 30 car accidents by about noon, with many of the collisions involving four or five vehicles. Drivers were being careful, he said, but they were skidding on a glaze of ice that developed under much of the snow pack.


"There was nothing reckless," he said. "But when they hit that ice, no matter what they tried to do they spun out of control."
The snow left the football field unusable at Minnesota State-Mankato, prompting the postponement of the school's game against Minnesota Duluth. School officials and conference administrators were considering their options for rescheduling the game.
The football game between Gustavus Adolphus College and Carleton College was pushed back to 1 p.m. Sunday.


Meteorologists said Ashland and Bayfield counties could get 4 to 6 inches of snow on Sunday, while parts of western and north-central Wisconsin could see about an inch.
The snow in both states wasn't expected to stick around for long. Recent warm weather meant the ground is still relatively warm, meteorologists said, and temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to high 30s for the next few days.


source:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101114/ap_on_re_us/us_midwest_snowstorm