Milder, settled weather on way following cold snap

The worst of the winter woes appear to be behind us for the time being at least as the weather is expected to turn dry and mild after the recent snow and ice.

Many places awoke to a frosty start on Saturday and while the rest of the day is expected to remain chilly nationwide with temperatures staying in the single digits and rain showers affecting the north and northwest, change is expected to come in from Sunday.

Met Éireann forecasts highs of 10 degrees on Sunday, and although scattered outbursts of rain may continue to affect northerly parts on Sunday it is expected to remain mostly dry with virtually no threat of snow.

Double-digit daytime values will become the norm over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with temperatures returning to average for this time of year and reaching up to 12 degrees in parts.

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Wind will gradually slacken to almost nothing countrywide following the blustery spell of recent days.

No further weather warnings are envisaged in the short term, although there is the possibility of fog patches developing on Monday.

The indications are that it will begin to turn colder again from Wednesday, although exact predictions are not yet available.

A status orange snow and ice warning was issued for counties Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo for Thursday and Friday, with northern counties worst affected by the year's first dump of snow.

Other areas were dealt with a less severe yellow warning, with light dustings more the order in other parts.

Relatively little disruption was caused by the cold spell, although a number of flights between London Heathrow and Dublin Airport fell victim to the weather on Thursday evening.

The Road Safety Authority has reminded all road users to take extra care at this time of year, particularly where icy or slippery conditions prevail.