A Status Yellow snow and ice warning remains in effect across 11 counties, with Met Éireann warning of difficult travelling conditions and poor visibility this morning.
The warning applies to Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo and Wicklow, and is set to remain in place until 9am.
A separate Status Yellow wind warning for Clare, Kerry and Galway expired earlier this morning at 6am.
According to Met Éireann, showers may fall as sleet or snow in some areas, with some accumulations possible, particularly on higher ground. Surface water left behind by yesterday’s heavy rain could also freeze, creating icy stretches on untreated roads and footpaths.
Met Éireann forecaster Siobhán Ryan said a change in air mass is already underway as “the winds have veered westerly in direction.”
“When they begin to veer westerly, we know that that change in air mass has already occurred, so the temperatures … are falling back quite markedly in across the north and west,” she said, adding that temperatures are also expected to drop “quite dramatically” in the coming hours across the south and east.
Ms Ryan said “the temperatures might come in around 0°C to 3°C overnight, but it's going to feel colder, because obviously there's going to be a wind-chill factor … so that's going to steer down some sleet and snow showers.”
Despite the cold snap, she described the conditions as “routine March weather”, adding that temperatures should rise slightly over the weekend, though “there's still going to be a little edge on it.”
Looking ahead, Ms Ryan said Saturday is likely to be the better day, with “long dry spells”, while Sunday will see the return of the wind-chill factor.
Conditions are expected to remain changeable into next week, and for St Patrick’s Day there may be “a bit cloudy, not so cold, but probably a spell of rain at some stage.”
Beyond that, she said there are tentative signs of high pressure building.
Ms Ryan added that “anything goes” when it comes to St Patrick’s Day weather, explaining that “it can be dry and sunny, the most you can hope for is temperatures in the high teens at the very, very best.”
“But you can also experience temperatures in the low single figures … and I think for this St Patrick's Day it's going to be somewhere in between those.”
