LAST UPDATE | 2 Jan

IRELAND IS SET to experience bitterly cold winter nights with Met Éireann warning of “very disruptive weather”, including heavy snow, in the days ahead.

Hazardous travelling conditions are forecast for the weekend, with a weather advisory warning of “significant accumulations” of snow in some counties.

The forecaster says very cold and impactful weather is expected this weekend, with an area of low pressure bringing rain, sleet and disruptive amounts of snow.

It will be drier in the early days of next week but the bitterly cold conditions will remain, amid lying snow, widespread severe frost and scattered wintry showers.

Low temperatures of -7 degrees are expected on Monday night while Tuesday and Wednesday are also set to be cold days, with temperatures ranging from -10 at night in some areas to 4 degrees during the day. 

Met Éireann said a low temperature and ice warning will take effect for the country from 6pm this evening and it is expected to lift at 11am tomorrow.

In the North, a yellow ice warning has been in place since yesterday. The UK Met Office said this will lift later this morning.

In its advisory published for Saturday and Sunday, Met Éireann said rain, sleet and snow will continue throughout the weekend before clearing on Sunday eastwards into the Irish Sea.

The Road Safety Authority has urged people travelling to exercise caution, warning of hazards such as black ice on the country’s roads.

⚠️Yellow Warning – Low Temperature/Ice ⚠️
📍 Ireland
📅 Thur 2, 6pm – Fri 3, 11am
Very cold with widespread frost and ice as temperatures fall to -3 degrees or below in many areas. Potential Impacts:
• Hazardous travelling conditions
• Animal welfare issues pic.twitter.com/GzXJFVk9ex

— RSA Ireland (@RSAIreland) January 2, 2025

Over the coming days

Saturday night will see widespread heavy falls of rain, sleet and snow with lowest temperatures of -2 to +1 degrees according to Met Éireann.

Sunday will bring further falls of rain, sleet and some further significant snowfall accumulations for a time.

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Met Éireann warns it will be “feeling very cold” with highest temperatures of 2 to 7 degrees, with the added wind chill from fresh and gusty northerly winds. This is expected to be stronger on the coast.

Temperatures are set to plummet again on Sunday night – it will range between -5 to 0 degrees.

Next week, an Arctic airmass will mean “treacherous conditions with some significant accumulations of lying snow”, along with widespread severe frost and ice.

It’s expected further weather warnings will be issued heading into the weekend.