LAST UPDATE | 7 Feb 2021

IT’S GOING TO be a cold day throughout the country as a new cold snap moves in, with Met Éireann forecasting sleet and snow over the coming days. 

There’s also a risk of more widespread sleet and snow to move in on Thursday.

An advisory from the forecaster of very cold conditions kicked in this morning and is set to last until Wednesday. No weather warnings have yet been issued.

Parts of Munster will wake up to frost this morning with cloudy conditions forecast around the country.

There’ll be outbreaks of rain and drizzle in parts of north Leinster and Ulster that will move southwards and then die out.

There’ll be some bright spells this afternoon with highest temperatures between 2 and 5 degrees. 

Tonight will be cold and mainly dry, Met Éireann said. Sleet and snow is forecast for the northern half of Leinster and eastern half of Ulster. 

Lowest temperatures will range between -2 and 2 degrees with a widespread sharp or severe frost and icy patches tonight. 

Tomorrow will be “very cold”, Met Éireann said, with bright or sunny spells. 

There’ll be scattered sleet and snow in the eastern half of the country, and in south Munster. Highest temperatures will be 1 to 4 degrees.

Driving conditions

AA Ireland has urged motorists to use caution when driving in the coming days, due to the likelihood of snowy and icy conditions on roads across the country.

They are advising for all motorists to reduce their speeds when driving on icy or snowy roads, and to pay close attention to other road users like cyclists and pedestrians. 

“While many of us are spending significantly less time in our car than we ordinarily would, for those who must travel in the days ahead it’s important that you remember to adapt your driving to the weather conditions that present,” said Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs.

On icy roads it can take much longer to bring your car to a stop in an emergency, so it’s important that you reduce your speed and allow extra distance between yourself and other road users.

According to the AA, they are currently dealing with approximately 350 breakdowns per day, and they believe that the icy weather could lead to an increase in breakdowns.

“Right now many of us are using our cars less regularly than we ordinarily would, and when you mix cold temperatures with reduced usage – particularly over a weekend where the car may be completely idle – any battery issues the car may have been experiencing can be exacerbated resulting in the car failing to start,” said Faughnan.

Further outlook

Looking ahead, it’s going to remain very cold throughout the week with sharp ice and frost at nights. 

On Monday night, temperatures could reach as low as -3 and then -4 on Tuesday night. 

Met Éireann said there is “some uncertainty” on exact details for the weather on Thursday and Friday but that current indications say that snow will become more widespread. 

It added that “significant accumulations” are possible before it turns to rain later on Thursday. 

With reporting by Tadgh McNally