The coldest night of the season is in store across the country on Thursday night, but “there won’t be snow”, according to Met Éireann.
It will be a calm night with no precipitation, meaning no snowfall, but there will be an “Arctic air mass with temperatures plummeting after dark”, Met Éireann forecaster Deirdre Lowe said.
The midlands will be particularly cold, with temperatures falling to -3 or -4 degrees, “but even around the coasts it will be not far from freezing”, Lowe said, with icy patches and the possibility of black ice on the roads into Friday morning, leading to potentially hazardous driving conditions.
“There has been some grass frost already but this will be the first serious frost of the season. You might have to scrape the car windscreen,” Lowe said.
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Friday will remain frosty to start, but a clearance is expected to develop during the day and it will remain settled but cold with highest temperatures of 5-8 degrees.
It will be cloudy in the west later on Friday with some frost again on Friday night but temperatures will increase for Saturday with highs of 8-11 degrees.
[ Ireland records sixth consecutive warmer-than-average October, Met Éireann saysOpens in new window ]
Sunday is expected to be wet, with winds coming in from the west. The rain will gradually clear to the east on Sunday evening, but there could be some sleet on hills in the northern parts of the country on Sunday night. “There will be wintry flavour to the hills on Sunday,” Lowe said.
Indications are that Monday will be mainly dry with some sunny spells and highest temperatures of 6-10 degrees.
