Cold spell to continue for the weekend

There's a wintry outlook for the weekend with Met Éireann meteorologist Aoife Kealy explaining that "a cold front will sink south across Ireland, once again opening the doors to very cold air from the Arctic, along with wintry showers of sleet, hail and snow".

Friday will be a cool day with a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers. The showers will become more widespread through the afternoon and some will be heavy, possibly with hail. Turning wintry at times too with the possibility of snow on higher ground later in the day.

It will be very cold tonight with temperatures dropping to between -3 to +1 degrees under long clear spells with a widespread sharp to severe frost forming, with some ice patches. Scattered wintry showers clearing the south overnight with further wintry showers moving into the north with a risk of isolated thunderstorms here. Light variable breezes.

A cold, bright start tomorrow with good spells of sunshine. Dry in many places with wintry showers skirting northwestern and northern coasts in the morning, some heavy with hail. Cloud will increase through the afternoon with showers of rain, hail and sleet developing and becoming widespread later in the day with a risk of thunderstorms too.

Transitioning to a less cold southwesterly regime through Sunday with rain or showers early next week, especially for the west and north.