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People planning outdoor activities on Christmas Day can look forward to relatively mild weather, although rain showers are expected in the wake of Storm Barbara.
“Christmas Eve will start off bright with some sunshine but there will be some showers,” Deirdre Lowe of Met Éireann said.
“It will be a breezy day but not as bad as it has been the past few days. A warm front is going to bring outbreak of rain and drizzle across the country. Temperatures will stay around 12 or 13 degrees overnight on tonight.
“Temperatures will be up in double figures on Christmas Eve and this mild weather will hang on for much of Christmas Day,” Ms Lowe continued.
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“It will be particularly windy along the western coast on Christmas Day with the risk of severe gusts there.
“Christmas Day will be rainy and mild until it gets colder in the evening. It will be very cold on Christmas Day night with some frost.
“St Stephen’s Day will be mild and dry but cold again that night,” she added.
“St Stephen’s Day will be a cooler, dry day with good sunny spells and just a few scattered showers in the north and northwest, otherwise it will be a mostly dry day.”
Top temperatures on St Stephen’s Day will be about 6 to 9 degrees in a moderate westerly breeze. Monday night will be mostly dry with good clear spells
Travel time
Ferry passengers have been advised to allow extra time to travel to Dublin Port this weekend due to heavy traffic and ongoing roadworks in the area.
Dublin Airport says it will have its busiest Christmas season on record this year, with just under one million people expected to arrive and depart between today (Christmas Eve) and Friday, January 6th.
The airport is not expecting any travel issues due to the storm, a spokeswoman has said.