A cold, unsettled few days is in store for the country with temperatures dropping to zero and below over the coming nights, according to Met Éireann.
It will be less cold through midweek but there will be a return to colder weather from Thursday night.
Today’s weather
Turning to today’s weather, frost will clear this morning to leave a cold and breezy day with sunny spells and scattered wintry showers, the national meteorological office says.
The showers will fall mainly over Ulster, Connacht and north Leinster. Highest afternoon temperatures of just 5° to 7° are expected, with an added wind chill in fresh northerly winds. A band of light rain will move into the northwest early this evening.
Cloud and outbreaks of light rain will move southwards to all areas tonight; however, rainfall amounts will be small and many areas will stay dry.
Clear spells at times will allow temperatures to fall to between -1° to +2° with a slight frost developing, in a light to moderate northwest breeze.
Farming and field conditions
Cold and more unsettled conditions will limit both drying and spraying conditions in for the coming week.
Regarding field conditions, with the dry weather over the past week, most soil is trafficable, Met Éireann says.
Over the coming week, soil moisture deficits will increase in most soils with below average rainfall forecast. However, poorly drained soils will likely become waterlogged in some areas of the northwest and north midlands this week.
Tomorrow
It will become less cold on Wednesday as winds turn westerly. Met Éireann is expecting a generally cloudy day overall with outbreaks of patchy light rain and drizzle crossing the country.
A clearance will develop from the southwest later. Highs of 6° to 9° are forecast, coolest over Ulster, in light to moderate westerly winds.
Tomorrow night will see patchy light rain and drizzle in the north and west. It will be mostly dry elsewhere with clear spells.
Lows of 0° to +2° are given in the south, and 3° to 5° further north, in light to moderate southwest winds.
Thursday
It will be mostly cloudy on Thursday, but will stay largely dry through Munster and Leinster, Met Éireann says.
Some patchy light rain and drizzle in Connacht and Ulster will sink southeastwards later. Highs of 8° to 10° are given in moderate southwest winds, strong on western and northern coasts.
A narrow band of heavier rain will move into the northwest through the late afternoon and evening.
This will move southwards overnight, clearing the south coast by Friday morning.
Winds turn northerly with the clearance of the rain, bringing a return to colder weather. Lows of 0° to +3° are forecast for Thursday night.