Met Éireann has said that the weather on Christmas Day will be wet, but overall the festive period will bring mixed conditions.
The national forecaster said that this morning, Christmas Eve, will be cloudy in most areas and some fog may linger in areas of the north.
Rain will push in from the southwest and then move slowly across the country; it is expected to arrive in Ulster this afternoon.
Conditions in the south and centre of the country will become dry and bright for a time as the rain clears. However, a band of rain will return to the southwest this evening.
Temperatures today will reach highs of 8° to 11° in moderate to fresh southeasterly winds, which will be strong at times in Ulster, especially in coastal areas.
Early tonight, the rain will become patchier over Ulster and north Leinster and clear northwards.
Showers of rain in the southwest will extend across the country with heavy falls in places.
Lowest temperatures of 4° to 8° degrees in moderate to fresh southeasterly winds.
Christmas Day
Met Éireann is forecasting that Christmas Day will begin wet, cloudy and breezy.
It said that widespread outbreaks of showery rain will be heavy at times with a risk of spot flooding in some areas.
In the southwest, there will be a clearance to brighter conditions with scattered showers in the early afternoon; this will extend to Connacht and the rest of Munster in the evening.
Highest temperatures of 7° to 11° generally, but it will be a little colder in parts of Ulster, in moderate to fresh southeasterly winds.
Clear spells will develop in Ulster and Leinster overnight, there will be scattered showers elsewhere.
Temperatures will fall back to between 3° and 7° and the winds will veer southerly and ease light to moderate with patches of mist and hill fog forming.
On Stephen’s Day (December 26), there will be a mixture of cloudy conditions and sunny spells across the country.
Scattered showers will be most frequent over Connacht and Ulster.
Temperatures will reach highs of 7° to 10° and southwesterly breezes will be light to moderate.
It will be mostly dry overnight with some clear spells developing, but some isolated showers may occur in the west and northwest.
Lowest temperatures of -1° to 4° and light southwest or variable breezes will frost and fog to form.
On Monday (December 27), it will be largely dry day with sunny spells, some scattered showers will affect the west and northwest.
Breezes will be light during the day and temperatures will range from 4° to 8°.
In the evening, rain will arrive in the southwest and extend across the country, temperatures will fall to between 0° to 4°.
It will be mostly dry with hazy sunshine on Tuesday (December 28), but again rain is set to arrive in the southwest later in the day; temperatures will reach 7° to 11°.
Met Éireann has said that the weather over the final days of 2021 will remain unsettled, but it will be mild for the time of year.