Met Éireann has said that it will be a windy and mild weekend with spells of rain at times as Christmas approaches.
The national forecaster has said that today (Friday, December 22) will be cloudy with fresh to strong northwesterly winds. Rain will die out later in the day and the winds will ease with highest temperatures of 9°C to 11°.
Cloudy will build tonight bringing falls of rain and drizzle, the rain will be more persistent in the northwest. It will be mild in lowest temperatures of 7° to 9° in fresh westerly winds.
Weather forecast
Saturday (December 23) will be mild and cloudy with a fresh westerly wind. Rain and drizzle will spread across the country, becoming more persistent in the afternoon. Mild with highest temperatures of 11° to 13°.
Rain will arrive in the northwest on Saturday night and push southeastwards during the night. Some heavy falls of rain in the north and west in a fresh southwest wind. Another mild night with temperatures ranging from 8° to 11°.
Sunday (Christmas Eve) will be a wet and windy day, some heavy rain in the west and north. Highest temperatures of 11° to 13°.
Sunday night will be cloudy with rain and drizzle, drier weather will develop in the midlands while drizzle will linger on the coasts. The southwest winds will ease, it will feel little cooler with lowest temperatures of 6° to 9°.
Christmas Day will be cloudy with rain and drizzle in the morning in western area, there will be some sunny spells in the east. Rain will push into southern counties later in the day, westerly winds will be fresh and possibly strong at times in the west. Highest temperatures of 7° to 10°.
The rain will become confined to the northwest on Christmas night, elsewhere it will be dry with some clear spells. A cool night as the mercury drops to lows of 2° to 5°.
Tuesday (St. Stephen’s Day) currently looks like it will be an unsettled day with rain in southern counties. Highs of 8° to 11° in a light southeasterly breeze.
Met Éireann
Met Éireann has said that rainfall amounts over the coming week will be normal or above, the wettest conditions will be in the southern half of the country where twice the average rainfall is possible.
It will remain slightly milder than normal, ranging between 7° to 11°, which is 2-3°above normal. Soil temperatures will remain warmer than normal also.
Sunshine amounts are expected to be below normal in the week ahead with often cloudy conditions.
Drying conditions will be poor, while the rain and wind will prevent spraying.
There will be very little change in soil conditions over the coming week, though moderately drained soils in the south and east will become waterlogged.