Met Éireann has said there will be mixed conditions over the weekend ahead of much colder conditions developing over the country.
The national meteorological service said that there is now “high confidence” for a spell of cold and wintry weather from Monday night (November 18) and throughout much of next week with frost, ice and some wintry showers.
The forecast shows that today (Friday, November 15) will be a mainly cloudy day with scattered patches of rain and drizzle along with mist and fog.
Bright or sunny spells are expected to develop in some areas during the day. Highest temperatures of 10° to 13°C in moderate southwest winds.
Tonight will be cloudy, a band of rain will push in from the north into Ulster and north Connacht before moving gradually south during the night.
Overnight temperatures will range from 5° to 10°, feeling coldest in Ulster after the rain clears.
Met Éireann
Patchy rain and drizzle on Saturday morning in the southern half of the country, drier in the north with some sunny spells and the odd shower.
Later in the day, the rain will clear from the south to leave a mixture of cloud and sunny spells.
It will feel fresher in the moderate northwest winds with highest afternoon temperatures of 8° to 11°.
Saturday night will be cold in lowest temperatures of 1° to 4°, higher values on Atlantic coasts with moderate west to northwest winds. Some hail showers are possible in north Ulster.
Sunday will be a fresh and bright day with sunny breaks and just a few showers in northern and western coastal counties.
Cloud will thicken from the Atlantic by evening bringing rain to the northwest coast. Highest temperatures will range from 7° to 10° in moderate westerly winds.
That rain will extend countrywide on Sunday night and it will become breezy. Lowest overnight temperatures of 5° to 9°.
Cold snap
Met Éireann said that an area of low pressure will move in over the country on Monday bringing rain. Some wintry falls are possible, but this remains uncertain.
Highest afternoon temperatures ranging from 4° to 12°, coldest in the north.
It will be cold on Monday night with frost and ice forming as temperatures drop down to between -1° to 3°, wintry showers will affect northern and western counties.
For the rest of the week, a cold northerly air-flow will dominate our weather bringing a mixture of bright spells and scattered wintry showers of hail, sleet and snow.
The showers will be most frequent across Connacht and Ulster with some lying snow expected, especially on hills.
Met Éireann warned that there will be widespread frost and ice at night with some hazardous travelling conditions.
Daytime temperatures are expected range from around 3° to 6°, while overnight temperatures will range from around 0 to -3°.
Met Éireann said that well drained and most moderately drained soils are currently trafficable in most parts of the country with soil moisture deficits (SMDs) of 0 to 7mm.
However, the most poorly drained soils are saturated with some areas of the south and southwest waterlogged.
Some deterioration in soil conditions is forecast due to limited drying and some rainfall over the weekend.
More poorly drained soils are expected to become waterlogged, while some moderately and well drained soils will become saturated.