Swimming in the Sea as 'Beast from the East' Cold Snap Grips Ireland

Welcome to the News in 30 secs, where we bring you the low-down on a news item in a 30-second nutshell. Winter swimmers braved icy waters of Irish Galway Bay on Wednesday, Feb. 28, as the so-called "Beast from the East" brought freezing Siberian weather to Ireland. Swimming enthusiasts at Salthill, a seaside resort situated on the northern inner shore of Galway Bay, seemed to enjoy the change of scenery and white fluffy stuff falling from the sky instead of the usual rain at this time of the year. Mickey Burton, 66 who has been coming for a swim at Salthill Diving Tower, rain or shine, for the past 17 years, said he was not deterred by sub-zero temperatures and swimming in icy waters made him feel good. "You know what ... It's just a ... You just feel good afterwards. You know, it's psychologically, physically, every way, you just feel good,” Mickey Burton said. Ireland's weather service issued a severe weather warning on Wednesday and said the country could see its worst snow since 1982. The cold spell has been caused by a jump in temperatures high over the Arctic, known by meteorologists as sudden stratospheric warming, which has weakened the jet stream that brings warm air in from the Atlantic to Ireland and Britain. Watch the video and take in a story in a bite-sized 30-second morsel!