Temperatures are set to drop as low as -3C this week, as Met Éireann says colder weather is expected due to an Arctic mass.
The national forecaster said that while a good amount of dry, bright weather is expected, rain, sleet, hail and some snow showers will dominate the week.
Frost and ice are also expected before it starts to become milder towards the end of the week, then becoming more unsettled.
Monday started off cool with some good spells of sunshine. However, cloud will start to build from the northwest over Ulster and Connacht with highs of 6C to 10C expected.
Leinster and Munster will see clear spells with some frost and icy patches in the evening. Rain and drizzle will develop in the northwest before it spreads southwards into most areas overnight. Lows of -1C to 3C are forecast for the night.
Tuesday morning will see rain and drizzle clear, followed by sunshine and some scattered showers. In the north, these showers can turn heavy, with a chance of hail.
It will become a cold night with scattered showers in parts of the north and northwest, with some moving west at times. The rest of the country will remain mostly dry with long clear spells on Tuesday night.
The showers, especially further north, will turn “increasingly wintry”, falling as sleet or snow, especially over higher ground, the national forecaster said. Lows of -1C to 3C are forecast nationwide.
Wednesday will be a cold day again, with sunshine and scattered showers in Ulster, Connacht and some parts of western Munster. Met Éireann said some of these showers will fall as sleet and hail, and with some snow too.
“Modest accumulations” of snow are expected on higher ground in the north and northwest. Highs of 4C to 7C are expected through the day.
Further showers, some wintry, are set for Wednesday night in the north and northeast. However, it will stay dry elsewhere with lows of -2C to 3C.
Thursday will bring mostly sunny spells and isolated wintry showers in the north and northwest. Highs of 4C to 8C are forecast. However, temperatures will drop later in the night to as low as -3C with frost and icy conditions expected.
Dry weather will start Friday, and Met Éireann said that while it could stay dry in the east and southwest for daylight hours, rain will gradually start to spread through the day.
More rain is expected on Friday night as temperatures sit between 3C and 8C.
Looking into the weekend, a mixed bag of weather conditions is expected as the national forecaster said sunshine and some heavy showers, as well as hail, are set.
However, it will not be as “cold as during the week, but likely becoming cool enough with temperatures probably coming in around average or a little below and with some frost possible.”
