Colder weather on way for Easter

It was clear skies and sunshine for most of the country last week, but it's a different story over the coming days.

Met Éireann has said that temperatures will be below average for the early part of this week, falling to as low as 1 degree this evening and even further tomorrow and Wednesday night.

The forecast is for a wet and breezy start tomorrow morning over Munster and much of Connacht and Leinster, turning more showering in the afternoon. In Ulster, it will be cold and windy with some hail and sleet showers and the possibility of snow.

Tomorrow evening will see temperatures plunge to as low as minus 3 degrees in many parts of the country.

Wednesday and Thursday are also expected to be as cold in the evenings although daytime temperatures may reach up to 11 degrees and some clear spells are likely.

Met Éireann says that over the Easter period temperatures will be in the low teens which is normal for the time of year. However, it warns that it may feel cooler at time due to fresh, northwest winds. Some periods of rain or showers is also expected during Good Friday and Saturday which is expected to clear by Sunday.

New data from Met Éireann show temperatures for March were above average.

The highest temperature last month was 22.2 degrees at Belmullet, the warmest March recorded there since 1956. Most other stations reported temperatures which were their highest in at least 47 years.

Sunshine totals for the month were above average everywhere, but it was still the dullest March since 2006 in parts of the southwest. The sunniest days of the month were between the 26th and 28th, where durations of over 11 hours were recorded everywhere.

Valentia Observatory and Shannon airport reported 11.2 hours and 11.4 hours of sunshine, their highest March daily sunshine since 1944and 1965, respectively.

Last month also saw less rainfall than normal with Mullingar reporting its driest March since 1961. Most other weather stations reported their driest March in at least 7 years.

Elsewhere, the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland recorded its highest temperature in 47 years last month.

Britan is also expecting a bout of cooler weather this week with as much as 5-10 cm of snow forecast for parts of Scotland over the coming days.

New data show that March was the sunniest month in the United Kingdom since 1929 and the warmest since 1997.

The highest maximum temperature recorded was 23.6 degrees in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire,  a new Scottish record for March.