A STATUS YELLOW weather advisory will come into place for the country at 6.03 this evening and remain until 12 midday on Saturday.

Met Éireann is warning that “very cold and wintry weather will develop from Wednesday onwards”.

Falls of sleet and snow are expected from this evening, with the heaviest of the fall expected over Ulster, Connacht, north Leinster and west Munster.

Breakdown 

Today is expected to be cold and rather windy, with a mix of sunny spells and showers. Afternoon temperatures may be as low as 5 degrees with strong and gusty winds.

Showers will turn increasingly wintry tonight with sleet and snow, freezing temperatures and a risk of thunder.

Tomorrow will be bitterly cold tomorrow with scattered sleet and snow showers, and the ongoing threat of thunder. Highest temperatures will only reach between 1 to 3 degrees with a brisk northwest wind.

Tomorrow night will stay cold and blustery with further sleet and snow showers and the ongoing risk of thunder. Frost and ice are forecast with lowest temperatures of 0 to -2 degrees.

Friday will see scattered wintry showers through the day with snowfall mainly in the north. Once again, thunder may coincide with some of these showers. Temperatures will remain extremely low with highs of just 3 to 5 degrees.

Met Éireann says temperatures are expected to rise to between 5 to 9 degrees on Saturday with a mostly dry day with good sunny spells.

Sunday will also be mostly dry and bright and a return to more normal temperatures of between 8 to 10 degrees.

Read: Fallen trees blocking roads in several counties due to strong winds>