Ireland is in for a swift and stark change in conditions over the weekend and into next week with the arrival of rain, sleet and snow.
There are a number of regions that will bear the worst of conditions and one particular area is for the heaviest of snowfall.
Today, it’ll be mostly dry and sunny, but as cloud builds throughout the afternoon there will be scattered showers of rain, hail, and sleet, with a possibility of some snow on hills and mountains.
The highest temperatures will range from 5 to 9 degrees, the lowest in Ulster, and feeling cold in a moderate to fresh northerly wind.
Overnight, there will be a few showers in coastal areas of the north and east tonight and some may be of a wintry nature, but most of the country will be dry with long clear spells.
A widespread frost is expected with lowest temperatures between -4 to 1 degrees expected in light northerly breezes.
Friday will be a dry day for most of the country, however, after a cold and sunny morning, clouds will increase from the north through the day with outbreaks of rain extending into the north and northeast during the late afternoon and early evening.
On Friday night outbreaks of rain will affect east and northeast counties and may turn to sleet at times over higher ground, becoming more widespread towards morning.
The lowest temperatures will range from zero to plus 2 degrees - “coldest in Munster where under clearer skies there may be a touch of frost locally, while cloud cover should keep temperatures higher elsewhere, in moderate northwest winds,” according to the Irish forecaster.
Saturday will be another cloudy day with showers and some sunny spells - the best of which will be seen in Ulster in the afternoon, into the evening.
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Showers will become isolated on Saturday night as most of the country becomes dry with clear spells.
Frost will form in parts of the southeast where it will be coldest with lowest temperatures of zero to minus 2 degrees.
Sunday will be mainly dry with sunny spells and isolated showers in the afternoon with highest temperatures will be between 8 and 11 degrees in light northerly winds.
It’ll become cloudy overnight Sunday night with rain extending into the north and east towards morning while temperatures drop to 1 degree in some areas - rising later in the night as winds back southwesterly overnight.
As for next week, the forecaster says: “Current indications suggest westerly winds will bring a more unsettled spell of weather with rain or showers at times and temperatures closer to the seasonal average of 11 or 12 degrees in the afternoon.”
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