Getting Winter Ready

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Moving from South Africa where only a few places experience snow or really cold temperatures, moving to Ireland, can be quite a contrast.

The most common saying is there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing will always be true.

Table of Contents for this topic:

 


1. Winter Clothing

 

  • Your personal tolerance to cold. Some people “feel” the cold more than others. Some acclimatize a lot quicker than others too.

 

  • The BER rating of your home. The ability of your house to hold heat will vastly affect your attitude to the cold. Wet, cold, older homes are really uncomfortable to be in during winter, where newer homes with A or B BER rating will be a doddle to warm up and keep warm. Warm home, warm body, and you’re more likely to be able to face the cold easier.
  • HOWEVER, it can also be argued that people who leave the heating on longer and too high, can actually feel the outside temperate more drastically and therefore acclimatize slower than those in a colder house who are more used to it.
  • So, you’ll hear both sides of this argument. Perhaps a balance… put the heating on only a few hours a day and wear warmer clothes in the house in the in-between times? So, some good warm slippers and a good warm jumper for in the house won’t be a waste.

 

  • It will also depend on the type of work you do or what you do with your spare time. Will you just be walking a short distance from car/public transport to office building and wear office appropriate clothing? Will you be outdoors long periods of time waiting for buses? Are you someone who walks for miles across hills and fields? Will you be cycling to work? Will you be walking the kids to school?
  • There is no 1 answer to “what is the best coat” or “what’s the best shoes?”
  • The best general advice is wear layers because public buildings and offices have to be warm, and therefore you will probably sweat when you walk into Tesco’s in the same coat you wear outside so you may end up carrying it.

 

  • Also thicker soled shoes to put a gap between the cold ground and your feet, and waterproof to prevent your feet getting wet and therefore cold and preferably not smooth soled because grip is essential when it comes to ice (see later).

 

  • Water and wind proof is best for Ireland. We have a fairly cool but not normally freezing climate. Winter daytime is usually around 5C with the odd cold spell around zero. Mornings and evenings may drop down to 0C or below. What makes it cold is wind factor which makes the “RealFeel” lower than the actual temperate. And getting wet to your skin makes it even worse.

 

  • Good gloves, scarves and hats are worn by everyone: Men women and children.

Examples of Men's clothes:

 

Examples of Women's clothes

 

Examples of Kid's clothes

   Resources for this topic- Shopping related - Links to shops and online sites of various types

 

High Vis clothing is vital in winter particularly for kids who might be walking to school in twilight hours or bad weather, or waiting for a bus

See HIGH VIZ clothing from the Road Safety Authority

Might be a good idea to keep a couple of these in the back of the car in case you break down in darkness or bad weather too, adult ones as well as kids

 


 2. Getting your home winter ready

 

  • Make sure your boiler, fire alarms and gas alarms are inspected yearly. This is a requirement by law for rented properties. When winter comes these devices are used more, so you are at risk if your fire and gas detection should there be faults RTB and the min spec of a rental property

 

 

  • Stock up on fuel if you live rurally. Check how often and where to buy your oil and solid fuels and check on these levels during winter often

 

  • Check your chimney has been cleaned

 

  • Make sure gutters are clear from Autumn leaves and moss

 

  • Not a MUST have… but more a just in case… a bag of salt for icy footpaths or even snow. (see below on ice)

 

  • Check for water leaks and taps and pipes can freeze and cause flooding Freezing taps

 

  • Check your trees for broken or dead branches. The wind can really pick up in Ireland all year round.

 

 


 3. Getting your car winter ready

 

You should get your car serviced before winter sets in to make sure it is ready for the conditions that are usually manageable, but sometime can be bad. And you wont enjoy being stuck on the side of the road on a cold wet night waiting to be towed. There are some things you can do yourself:

  • Lights -Make sure all your indicators and headlamps are clean and working. You will be driving more during dusk, night and foggy conditions
  • Liquids -Make sure the water reservoir is up to the maximum mark and correctly mixed with anti-freeze. You may also need to top up your coolant and screen wash
  • Oil -Check your dipstick and top up the oil if necessary. Look for signs of leakages on the ground under the car
  • Electrics -Check your dashboard before and after starting the engine. Listen for a weak battery and replace if necessary
  • Windscreen wipers -you should clean them regularly and replace them every 12 months. Using wipers on an icy windscreen will make them perish quicker
  • Check your tyre treads and pressure, including the spare. While the minimum legal limit is 1.6mm, a minimum tread of 3mm is advised for winter driving. You may choose to have “all weather” tyres all year round driving, or switch between winter tyres and summer tyres each season. Your choice.
  • If you do have a break down on the side of the road, you may want to have in your car:
  • Emergency equipment to have in your car
  • High Visibility Vest
  • A hazard warning triangle
  • A torch with batteries
  • Tow rope
  • Jump Leads
  • A Fuel Canister
  • De-icing equipment (Both for glass and door locks) (see later on ice)
  • First aid kit
  • Spare charger for your phone in the car

    Exchanging your SA licence, Motor Tax, NCT, Car seats, Learner's licence, British licences, Licence categories, Penalty points, Road Rules, and Car Insurance

   Resources for this topic- Car buying and Car Insurance related - list of all the car insurance companies and car buying and driving related websites

 


 4. Kids carseats and winter coats!

 

Big bulky winter coats and car seats are a dangerous combination. We want to avoid having a lot of bulky clothing inside the harnessing system in the child restraint because in a crash all the bulk will squish down and the harness straps will be loose.

Here is a simple way to check if your child’s coat is too big to wear under their harness:

  • Put the coat on your child, sit them in the child seat and fasten the harness. Tighten the harness until you can no longer pinch any of the harness webbing with your thumb and forefinger
  • Without loosening the harness, remove your child from the child seat,
  • Take the coat off and put your child back in the car seat and buckle the harness straps, which are still adjusted as they were when he was wearing the coat.
  • If you can now pinch the webbing between your thumb and forefinger then the coat is too bulky to be worn under the harness.

Winter coats and kids carseats

 


 5. Ice and Snow

 

It doesn’t snow a lot in Ireland. It snows more often up in the higher grounds and Northern parts than the Southern regions. When it’s a clear night the night before, you will see heavy frosts in Autumn- Winter and Winter- Spring, but as winter sets in, some mornings heavier ice on your car and pathways.

Never use boiling water to clear ice, it may re-freeze and cause the formation of black ice, it could also crack the glass on your windscreen if extremely cold and extremely hot water. Also, be aware of your neighbours. Might be okay for you to put water on your car and drive off, but you may be creating a lethal hazard for your elderly neighbours when they walk into the re-formed ice from your water later in the morning.

 

 Rather try one or some of these techniques:

  • Use de-icing spray or rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. Even screen wash with alcohol in it sometimes works on lighter ice
  • Use a scraper to remove ice
  • Use gritting salt on pathways. You can buy a bag of this at most garden centres and hardware store and put it in a weatherproof closed container near the pathways with a little spade to throw it in the mornings.
  • Keep a can of de-icing spray, the scraper and a torch in your car... if you go out at night you can return to a car covered in ice and then stuck with no access to anything to defrost it
  • Keep your car running with the ignition and heating on to defrost on it’s own. Depending on your neighborhood this may be done attended or unattended.


 

Snow advice from Irish Gov:

  • Clearing snow can be demanding work - only undertake the task if you are reasonably fit and do not have an underlying medical condition
  • Clear snow or ice early in the day if possible
  • Wear sturdy, insulated, waterproof footwear with good gripping soles
  • Use a shovel. There are special shovels for this task but any garden shovel will do
  • Make a path down the middle of the area being cleared so that you will have a clear surface to walk on
  • You can prevent ice forming by spreading salt on the area that you have cleared
  • When you are clearing snow it is important that you don’t create an obstacle for pedestrians or traffic.  Ensure that the snow is removed to a location that won’t create a hazard

 


Driving and Black Ice

 

Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a thin coating of glaze ice on a surface, especially on roads. The ice itself is not black, but visually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it. The typically low levels of noticeable ice pellets, snow, or sleet surrounding black ice means that areas of the ice are often practically invisible to drivers or people stepping on it. There is, thus, a risk of slippage and subsequent accident due to the unexpected loss of traction.

Drive slower when conditions are icy. Hitting black ice can be lethal. Many a South African will tell you tales of their black ice incidents. Main roads normally have salt thrown on them, rural area roads never get this done, so you need to take EXTRA precaution on the rural roads! You will see a Gritter truck driving down main road that spills or sprays a mixture of small stone and salt onto the roads when there is ice expected during the night

Heres some videos on how to handle Black ice should you hit it whilst driving:

How to drive in black ice 1

How to drive in black ice 2

 


 6. Met Éireann’s Weather Warnings

 

Met Éireann’s weather alert systems will be announced in 3 categories:

YELLOW, ORANGE and RED. These will show on almost all Irish weather apps, the media and local social media groups.

One of our most important roles here in Met Éireann is to issue warnings ahead of severe weather. We issue three categories of weather warnings, yellow, orange and red. In this video, meteorologist Siobhán Ryan explains what each warning category means and what action is warranted for each.

“A status yellow weather alert is given to warn those at risk from certain weather because of their location and/or their activity. It advises these people to take preventative action. Expected weather conditions in a status yellow alert do not pose an immediate risk to the general population.”

“A status orange weather warning is given before expected weather conditions that could significantly impact people, property and activity in an area. People in the affected areas should prepare appropriately now for the anticipated conditions.”

“A status red severe weather warning is rarely issued but when it is, people in the areas expected to be affected should take action to protect themselves and/or their properties.”

RED WEATHER WARNING: Be Prepared

  • Have a small supply of non perishable, easy-to-prepare foods (trust me, when you see the local Irish people going to buy loads of bread- go buy bread! It will soon be sold out!)
  • Keep extra supplies of essential medication in case it is difficult to get to the doctor/pharmacy
  • Have an adequate supply of fuel for heating/cooking and if possible a suitable alternative should the main supply fail
  • Have batteries for torches and alternative light sources in the event of power cuts
  • Have a water container to ensure a supply of drinking water
  • Know how to turn off your water supply
  • Keep mobile phones charged up -have local emergency numbers in your phone
  • Have a suitable snow shovel (but any shovel or spade will do)
  • Know your EIRCODE- if you need assistance your Eircode will direct emergency services straight to your door.

 


 Comments from South Africans who have moved on weather and or clothes

 

"Her mad unpredicatble weather than changes with every passing cloud, can be hailing and rainy right here and a few yards down the road bone dry and sunny, and thats hail now... but in an hour could be snow or could warm up to 10C. She keeps you on your toes this woman called Ireland."

"SA clothes not suitable for Ireland. All my Woolworths jeans I could only wear in summer as they offer no protection. We bought Jeep Jackets in SA that cost a fortune and have no protection here during winter. Penny's here is very affordable and you will find Jackets and clothing for winter that is suitable. My dad came to visit pre covid in Jan and soon as he got off the plane we took him to Penny's and bought him a decent jacket and clothes for the winter here."

 

"Penneys is very affordable. I think the most my winter rain proof jacket cost was €25. Jeans are between €6 to €15. For about €50 you could get a few decent items to hold you over. I honestly find Penneys much more affordable here than SA retailers.Dunns and H&M slightly more expensive."

 

"And dont think in Rands- think Euros... how long will you have to work to afford this? Min wage is EUR10.20/hr"

 

"Clothes are cheap in Ireland if you know where to shop and you're flying into summer. So some light tracky tops, waterproof raincoat and walking shoes that are waterproof should be good"

 

"Hoodies, you do get decent hoodies here, but I miss my P 'n P ones, I wear my hoodies all year round. I agree with B re: Jackets, wait until you get here, plenty of choice."

 

When you come (what season) will make a difference as to what to bring. "We’ve been here for 3 months and are still waiting for our move cube with all our clothes. Remember central heating and double glazing here make homes a lot warmer...i bought all my winter pj’s and wish I’d bought summer pj’s! SA clothes aren’t geared for Ireland as in proper waterproof jackets and shoes etc. A lot of online and instore shops like Regatta are always having sales and we bought very reasonably priced jackets. So bring windbreakers but look for the rest here. And bring summer clothes! 15 degrees here weirdly feels like 18 in SA! I can wear a vest top and light jersey on a day that’s 13 degrees. It’s beautiful here, you’re going to love it! All the best ????"

 

"It depends how cold you get. I wear my SA hoodies and jackets at times but husband wears clothes from here as he can’t bear the cold."

 

"same... All my jackets from SA have been fine.. But I feel the cold much less than the family"

 

"The charity shops often have very good quality jackets and jeans for less than €5 and kids clothes still with labels on for less than €1."

 

"Buy in Ireland I spent so much money in sa to accommodate the weather here, I've given all my clothes away and stocked up here the cold is way different here and so is the sun"

 

"My son was very pleased with his down proof jacket from Cape Union Mart which was quite a bit cheaper and better quality for the price than in Ireland. Good waterproof shoes and good sports socks are best bought here to start with until you find your feet there. "

 


More on Irish weather:  Met.ie Irish Climate

Major weather events in Ireland: Met.ie Major weather events

Weather info by region: Met.ie Weather by regions

Weather apps you may want to download:

  • Met Éireann
  • Accuweather
  • Weather&Radar
  • Windy
  • Ireland weather

Important links: 

 

  #MapMyMove- Our coaching Services - Confused or lost and need some direction, book a session with us to help untangle the confusion and work out your route of immigration

 

 

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