Cloudy skies and periodic showers look set to remain in place for the next few days as a band of rain moves in across counties on the west coast later today (Friday, January 6).
While today will have a dry start with some bright spells in the east of the country, rain will eventually come and spread across the country by the evening alongside some southerly winds.
The rain is expected to continue into the night, when temperatures will drop to 3° to 6°, although it will clear before dawn.
Tomorrow
The weather forecast indicates a cloudy and windy morning tomorrow (Saturday, January 7), as the rain moves away to give way to some sunny spells. The wind is expected to build and strong southwest gales will blow in the north and west.
This will give way to a windy and cloudy night with heavy showers right across the country, the heaviest of which will be along the Atlantic coast. There is a possibility of hail in these counties too, while the east will experience drier spells as overnight lows reach 4° to 7°.
Sunday
Similar weather will continue on Sunday (January 8), with persistent blustery winds during the day as the showers become widespread and occasionally heavy.
Met Éireann has also stated there may be some thunder in Atlantic coastal counties, while temperatures in the east of the country won’t go above 9°.
On Sunday night, similar conditions will continue with the possibility of hail remaining, however, temperatures are estimated to remain above freezing, with lows of 1° to 4°.
Monday
Next week will begin with heavy cloud coverage and scattered showers on Monday (January 9) that will mainly affect western areas.
Meanwhile, in the eastern regions it will stay largely dry with westerly breezes, which are expected to move off as showers move north to Ulster. It will be a cool night with lows again of 1° to 4°.
The long range forecast indicates a similar week beyond Monday as wet and windy weather persists, with the most severe conditions located largely in the west. There will be cloudy skies and brisk winds throughout the days although afternoon temperatures may be a little higher, in the range of 9° to 12°.