Temperatures are set to plunge this week as a “polar low” sweeps in across the country from the north.
Met Éireann has warned that the unseasonably mild weather that saw temperatures reach the mid-teens on Tuesday in Ireland this week will be replaced from Wednesday morning with sub zero temperatures, icy roads and snow over the hills.
The forecaster said the icy weather would begin to move down across the country from the north west and by Wednesday night it will have turned cold everywhere and temperatures will fall to near freezing in the early part of the night.
“The winds will become cyclonic variable in the north as an area of low pressure, called a ‘polar low’, tracks over or near the north of the country,” the forecaster added.
“To the south of the low pressure centre winds will be strong and gusty from a south-westerly direction, later veering west. There will be showers too, likely to be heavy and falling as snow over the hills and mountains.”
Showers, some wintry, will continue on Thursday mainly in the west and north west. Temperatures during Thursday afternoon will top only 5 degrees in the north and 8 degrees in the south while on Thursday temperatures are expected to plunge to as low as minus 2 degrees Celsius.
"There'll be showers or longer spells of rain, turning wintry with snow likely on the Wicklow Mountains," Met Éireann's latest forecast states.
The cold snap will continue into Friday with light winds and showers that will continue to turn wintry at times.