Temperatures to plunge to -2C with snow and ice warning issued for entire country
Met Éireann has warned of 'blustery showers of hail, sleet and snow' with icy stretches on untreated surfaces leading to hazardous driving conditions.
Temperatures will plunge to below freezing on Wednesday night with a snow and ice warning being issued for the entire country.
Met Éireann has warned of "blustery squally showers of hail, sleet and snow" with icy stretches on untreated surfaces that will lead to "hazardous driving condition"s on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
"Some thunder and lightning expected too."
The warning will be in place from 10pm this evening it will remain in place until 12pm on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a status yellow wind warning has also been issued for Clare, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo. "Very strong and gusty" winds will be seen in those counties with the warning in place from 8am tomorrow until 6pm.
While Wednesday started with sunny spells and scattered showers rain will become widespread later in the day.
Tonight will see the coldest weather with temperatures dropping to lows of -2C. Met Éireann said it will feel "even colder owing to an added wind chill factor".
It will feel "raw" with "brisk westerly winds feeding in a scattering of snow, sleet and rain showers".
"Temperatures will drop quite quickly this evening with the chance of frost and ice forming, especially for inland and rural areas," said Met Éireann meteorologist Emer Flood.
"It’ll be windy tonight too especially in northern and western areas, this helping to drive wintry showers of snow, sleet and hail inland. Some areas especially in the northwest will see some snow accumulations of a few centimetres to lower levels, accumulations elsewhere will be mainly confined to high ground."
By Thursday morning, it will be cold and windy with "sunny spells and further scattered wintry showers".
Met Éireann warned that "snow showers and icy stretches during the morning will lead to treacherous conditions in parts" as well as some thundery showers.
Friday and Saturday are expected to be drier before turning wet for a time later this weekend.
Meanwhile, there is also a status yellow wind and snow warning in place for parts of the North.
The UK Met Office said the warning would be in place for Antrim, Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Derry from 1pm until 3pm tomorrow.
It warned: "Frequent heavy snow showers are expected, along with very gusty winds and a small chance of frequent lightning affecting some places."
Check out the Irish Examiner's WEATHER CENTRE for regularly updated short and long range forecasts wherever you are. Rainfall and temperature charts are also available.
