Met Éireann Warn Of -3C Temperatures With 'Chance Of Snow' As Winter Officially Arrives

Met Éireann have said that temperatures are to plummet, with most of the country issued with Status Yellow ice warnings.

The national forecaster has warned that temperatures are set to hit lows of -3C in most areas, with Winter set to arrive this weekend.

With Winter officially arriving tomorrow (Dec 1), Met Éireann have also warned that treacherous driving conditions due to the frost and ice, are also expected. 

Speaking recently, Met Éireann's Aoife Kealy has stated that an Arctic air mass is to sweep across the country, which is set to bring “noticeably colder conditions than we’ve had lately”.

“Daytime temperatures will struggle to get above the low single figures. Night-time temperatures will be near freezing or below through the week too, so that means there will be widespread frost and some ice", Kealy explained.

Motorists are set to find travel difficult at times, as dense fog is to develop over night, with frost, ice and fog being slow to clear in the morning.

“So extra care will be needed on the roads in the coming days", Kealy added. 

A Status Yellow low temperature and ice warning has been placed on 23 counties, including, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and all of Connacht. 

The warning will be in place from 6pm today, and is effective until midday tomorrow.

While it is set to remain dry with some sunny spells due to high pressure, Ms Kealy has warned that there could be a slight chance of snow before the weekend.

“On Thursday and Friday it’s possible that some showers will turn to hail or sleet with a chance of some snow, particularly over higher ground,” she said. “But even where the showers do turn wintry, accumulations will be very small".

She also added that the exact time-length that this cold spell will last for remains uncertain, with current indications suggesting that conditions are to remain colder than average with further showers over the weekend, even turning wintry at times for Monday and Tuesday, while remaining dry.

Kealy added, “However, there is also potential for some longer spells of rain if milder air makes its way across us from the south".