Yellow weather warnings are in place for ice, snow and wind in several parts of the country this weekend.
Met Éireann has forecast a windy Saturday night with showers becoming widespread overnight, some heavy and wintry, with a mix of rain, hail, sleet and snow, the snow mainly on hills and in the north of the country.
Low temperatures of one to four degrees with fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds are forecast.
The weather is due to begin “very windy” on Sunday, with blustery showers, some heavy, with a mix of rain, hail, sleet and possibly snow in some areas.
Winds will begin to ease towards evening, with afternoon temperatures of five to eight degrees.
On Sunday night, showers will gradually become isolated and there will be clear spells for a time, Met Éireann said.
Yellow warnings are in place for wind in Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo with “sustained strong and gusty westerly winds” coupled with “large coastal waves”.
The winds are due to peak on Saturday night into Sunday morning, with potential impacts including fallen trees and difficult travelling conditions, especially near the coast.
The warning is valid until 2pm on Sunday.
Similarly, there is a status yellow wind warning for Clare, Kerry and Limerick until 3pm on Sunday, and a yellow snow-ice warning for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Leitrim and Louth until 9am on Sunday.
The snow-ice warning could result in poor visibility, temporary icy patches and wintry showers of hail, sleet and snow in those areas.
On Monday light rain or drizzle will spread eastwards through the morning and continue for the rest of the day.
Light to moderate southerly winds will bring a change in temperature, with temperatures slowly rising to reach 10 to 13 degrees in the afternoon.
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St. Stephen’s Day will all be mostly cloudy. Apart from some light rain or drizzle, it will be mostly dry. Day time temperatures will reach 11 or 12 degrees.
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