A cold weekend is in store for the country over the next few days with largely dry weather on the way, according to Met Eireann.
Today (Friday, January 4) will be mainly dry. There will be some sunny breaks but many areas will remain cloudy.
Highest temperatures will reach 5° to 9° in mostly light southerly breezes, moderate along Atlantic coasts.
Tonight will be dry apart from a few spots of drizzle, with lowest temperatures of 1° to 5° in most areas.
The past week has been drier than average countrywide with between 10% and 40% of the normal weekly rainfall, less in parts of the east.
High pressure is going to dominate our weather over the next week bringing a lot of dry weather with only small amounts of rainfall expected, keeping figures well below average, according to the national meteorological office.
Most soils are saturated, but due to dry weather over the past number of days, some light soils are trafficable.
There is no marked change expected this week, perhaps a slight recovery in saturated soils in the east.
Tomorrow
Tomorrow will be largely dry again with a few bright or sunny spells. Towards evening light rain will develop on west coasts. Highest temperatures will peak at 7° to 11°, while southerly winds will be light to moderate.
Tomorrow night will be mostly cloudy with patchy light rain or drizzle. Lowest temperatures will stay around 3° to 7°. Winds will be light southwesterly or variable with mist and patches of fog forming, according to the forecaster.
Outlook
Sunday will be mostly dull or cloudy with patchy rain or drizzle, mostly affecting Leinster and Munster with somewhat drier conditions in the north.
Top temperatures will be around 5° to 7° in the north but 8° to 11° elsewhere in light variable breezes.
However, during Sunday night southwesterly winds will increase moderate to fresh. It will stay mostly dull or cloudy with patchy rain or drizzle.
Lowest temperatures will remain around 3° to 8°, Met Eireann says.