Lidl has released a statement about its opening hours over the next couple of days

Half the country was seemingly stocking up on sliced pans over the last 24 hours.

However, there's no doubt that a load more folk will be eager to get the essentials in before the country officially shuts down on Thursday. If you have a local Lidl that you plan on hitting - the supermarket has now released a statement regarding its opening hours. And it seems that stores in Leinster and Munster will be closed for much of Thursday and Friday. Lidl confirmed on Wednesday: "We have made the decision to close all stores in Leinster and Munster from 3pm tomorrow Thursday March 1 until 1pm on Friday March 2." The statement added: "Upon reopening, we ask customers for patience with our store teams who will have just resumed normal operations." Lidl furthermore said that it will need to re-access the decision as snow continues to fall - with additional store closures a possibility. "We are continuing to assess and monitor the situation as it happens. As always the health and safety of all colleagues and customers remains an absolute priority," it said. "Decisions may be taken at individual store level to extend this closure period depending on localised weather conditions." Weather conditions are expected to worsen on Thursday with temperatures hitting minus 7C in places.