Weather: Ireland to experience freezing temperatures this weekend as cold air moves in from Scandinavia

Large parts of Ireland will experience freezing conditions for the first time this winter with cold air from Scandinavia descending over the country.

Scandinavia has been in the grip of an intense period of cold weather with temperatures well below the average for the time of year.

That cold air will descend for a period over the weekend on Great Britain and Ireland with parts of Scotland and northern England getting heavy falls of snow.

The cold air will make it across to Ireland for a time over the weekend with widespread freezing conditions on Friday night and an extended frost. Temperatures as low as minus 2 will be experienced in the eastern half of the Republic and in Northern Ireland.

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Saturday will be a cold day with temperatures reaching just 5 to 8 degrees in most places. It will be followed by a cold night on Saturday night.

Temperatures will improve on Sunday and into the start of next week, but there is a possibility of another cold snap to mark the start of December which is also the start of the meteorological winter.

Met Éireann forecaster Liz Walsh said there was a possibility of a high pressure system that will drag cold air over Ireland in early December, but it will be cold and dry so there is little risk of snow.

Ireland is on the right side of the jet stream which is keeping temperatures mild, she explained. That would have to change for a protracted period of cold weather to set in.