Freezageddon: is Ireland about to weather its worst winter in years?

Summer '15 won't go down as one of the greats, granted (we love and miss you summer 1995) – and even the much-promised back-to-school surge of sunshine has largely failed to materialise. 

Now there are mutterings that a Freezageddon to rival that of 2009/10 – a winter which was Ireland's worst in 50 years – is on the horizon.

Although meteorologists caution against making predictions too far in advance, in Britain there have been repeated warnings of a forthcoming El Nino phenomenon – a term used to describe specific atmospheric and oceanic conditions in the Pacific.

The natural effect is believed to occur around every two to seven years and it can have disastrous effects on the world’s weather system.

In this part of the world, it results in bitterly cold and snowy winters, although in Asia and Australia drought is a consequence, while the west coasts of North and South America can expect torrential rain.

Six years ago, heavy snow and ice caused traffic chaos in Ireland's cities, and grounded numerous aircraft.