Few wintry showers with minus eight forecast tonight

Weather update from Met Éireann

Very cold, sunny and mainly dry today, with just a few wintry showers in the north and northwest with temperatures dipping to minus eight in some parts tonight.

A Status Orange Low Temperature/Ice warning is in place for many counties and will remain in place for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Munster and Connacht until noon tomorrow Friday.

Temperatures will remain below freezing in some parts of the midlands throughout much of today with afternoon temperatures ranging between 0 and +3 degrees generally, but rising a few degrees higher on coastal fringes in light northwesterly winds.

Mainly dry tonight but some freezing fog will develop, mostly in the Midlands, as winds fall light and variable. Lowest temperatures again widely reaching -5 degrees, and reaching -7 or -8 degrees in some Midland areas.

On Friday morning any freezing fog will gradually clear inland parts. It will start mainly dry with isolated showers developing in the west and northwest, they will become heavier and more widespread over the western half of the country during the afternoon with the chance of a few isolated thunderstorms and small hail near northwest coasts. The showers will likely fall as rain near the coasts, transitioning to sleet and snow further inland. Still very cold with afternoon highs at best inland ranging from 0 to +3 degrees, and a couple of degrees higher on the coast in mostly light to moderate southwesterly winds.

After a cool start to the weekend, it will become much milder, wet and blustery by Sunday before gradually becoming cooler and somewhat more settled through the course of next week.

Not as bitterly cold on Friday night, but lowest temperatures will still dip to between -3 degrees to plus 2 degrees, coldest in the east. Showery outbreaks of rain and sleet will continue in the west. Later in the night, outbreaks of rain and sleet will become more widespread with some turning to snow, especially over higher ground.

Outbreaks of mostly rain and sleet will continue on Saturday morning, but will generally become confined to coastal counties in the afternoon as good sunny spells develop. Coldest across the northern half of the country with highest temperatures of 1 to 3 degrees, but rising up to 4 to 8 degrees in the south in mostly light southerly breezes.

Saturday night: Coldest early in the night with lows of -1 degrees in the north to 2 degrees in the south. Turning much milder in the south later in the night as a band of rain pushes up from the south. As it meets the cooler air over the northern half of the country it may fall as sleet, or even snow over higher ground for a time before transitioning back to rain. Becoming blustery too as southeasterly winds freshen across the country.

Sunday will bring rain, preceded by some sleet, with snow on higher ground. It will turn heavy at times as it pushes up across the country on Sunday morning. This will be followed by scattered showers from the south through the afternoon. While it will become milder everywhere, afternoon highs will range from 4 to 8 degrees in the north to 10 to 13 degrees further south as moderate to fresh southeasterly winds veer southerly and temperatures continue to rise in northern parts through the evening.

Remaining mild with showery outbreaks of rain on Sunday night while lowest temperatures will hold at a balmy 8 to 12 degrees in moderate to fresh southerly breezes.

After a mild, damp and mostly cloudy start to Monday, cooler showery conditions will spread from the west along with some sunny spells. Afternoon highs will range from 7 degrees in the northwest to 12 degrees in the southeast in mostly light southwesterly winds.

Further outlook: It looks to gradually get colder throughout next week.