Met Éireann issues winter advisory as ‘Arctic air mass’ to freeze Ireland

The national forecaster warned: “Very cold this week with sharp to severe frosts and icy stretches on roads. Showers of hail, sleet, and snow will occur during the second half of the week. Updates with potential warnings will be issued in the coming days.

The advisory came into effect yesterday and will remain in place until 11.30pm on Saturday.

Meanwhile, today will be quite cloudy with scattered showers continuing to feed in from the east.

The best of the dry and bright spells will be in the west but highest temperatures will remain in single digits, between five and nine degrees in a light to moderate northeasterly breeze.

Tuesday will be mostly dry with sunny spells, but there will be a few showers too, mainly near the east and south coast where it will be cloudiest.

It will be chilly with highest temperatures peaking at just four to eight degrees, in a light northerly wind.

The national forecaster said it will be very cold with widespread frost and icy stretches on roads over the coming days.

There will be plenty of dry weather but there will be wintry showers at times, particularly in the north and northwest.

It will be very cold overnight with widespread frost, as temperatures plunge to between -3 and two degrees.

It will be generally dry and clear but it will become cloudier with isolated showers in the northwest later, and there will be a light northerly wind.

Wednesday will be cold with daytime temperatures only reaching between two to five degrees in a light north to northwest wind.

It will be dry and sunny in most places, but there will be scattered showers in northern and western coastal areas.

The showers will turn increasingly wintry later in the day, with snow likely on high ground.

Overnight it will be “bitterly” cold with temperatures falling below zero countrywide and as low as -3 or -4 degrees in some places.

There will be a widespread sharp to severe frost and ice on untreated surfaces. Showers will move southwards over the country overnight and will fall as sleet or snow in some areas.

Thursday will be very cold with temperatures remaining in low single figures. A mix of sunny spells and well scattered showers of sleet, snow and hail.

The showers will become mainly confined to coastal parts of the northwest, north and east as the day goes on. Winds will be light and come from the north.

It will be another bitterly cold night with a widespread sharp to severe frost and icy stretches.

Minimum temperatures will range between -2 and -4 degrees in a light north to northwest wind. Most areas will be dry and clear but there will be wintry showers at times near the coast.