A freezing cold morning – and first signs of another weekend washout
Washout on Washington Street as pedestrians are caught in a rain shower (stock)(Image: Daragh McSweeney/Provision)
Anyone with big plans for Christmas shopping this week and over the weekend, be warned – you’ll need a coat and an umbrella as Ireland is set to be lashed with heavy rain, hail and thunderstorms in the coming days. Met Éireann’s early morning regional update for Munster signals a major change in conditions, as after a dry, bright start to the week, it’s set to grow very unsettled again from tonight.
This morning has started out freezing cold, with frosty conditions, fog, and poor visibility, as well as icy roads in some areas. Met Éireann forecasts mainly dry weather today, with a chance of a few showers in the west. But from tonight and the rest of the week, it’s downpours and stormy conditions set to last, with the chance for thunderstorms and hail showers during “persistent rain” lashing in from the west.
There are early indications that Friday should be better, but unsettled conditions are expected to persist into the weekend. There is hope for better weather Christmas week, however. Met Éireann’s very early outlook is that “more settled conditions will develop from early next week.”
Before then, it’s frequent rain and “risk of hail or isolated thunderstorms” across Munster. Here’s the latest:
Today: Frost in many parts of Munster early this morning, along with patches of mist and fog. These will gradually clear, and today will be cold and mainly dry with good sunshine and a few showers in western counties. Highest afternoon temperatures of 6 to 9 degrees, with a mostly light southwesterly breezes. Tonight will be dry and cold, with clear spells and temperatures ranging from 0 to 4 degrees. Cloud will increase from the west later on. Rain will develop in the west towards midnight and will spread eastwards to all areas overnight with fresh to strong, gusty southerly winds, strongest near western and southern coasts.
Wednesday: The morning will be cloudy with rain in all areas, possibly heavy in places. Rain will gradually clear eastwards through the late morning and afternoon with scattered showers following. Mostly fresh southerly winds will become southwesterly as rain clears. Milder than the previous two days with the highest afternoon temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees. While winds will ease through the morning, it will remain breezy with moderate to fresh southwesterly winds. Showers will become less frequent through the night, with dry conditions developing for most. Some clear spells too. Lowest temperatures of 4 to 8 degrees, with moderate to fresh southwesterly winds easing towards morning.
Thursday: Although the details are still uncertain, Thursday is expected to bring some wet and windy weather. Persistent rain, heavy at times, will affect parts in the morning and afternoon. As this clears eastwards, showers will feed in from the Atlantic, some of which will be heavy and with a risk of hail or isolated thunderstorms. Highest afternoon temperatures of 7 to 10 degrees. Moderate to fresh southerly winds will veer southwesterly and increase fresh to strong, with gales possible on some western coasts.Friday: Current indications are that Friday will be a drier day with sunny spells and scattered showers feeding into Atlantic coastal areas. Highest afternoon temperatures of 7 to 10 degrees, with moderate to fresh southwesterly winds. While unsettled conditions are set to continue for the weekend, with further spells of rain and showers on the way, there are indications that more settled conditions will develop from early next week.
