Cold and wintry weather in store for weekend

The weekend will be dominated by blustery, wintry weather, with showers today in the west and Munster, and cold temperatures reaching minus two forecast on Sunday night.

High winds are also forecast, especially in coastal areas.

Met Éireann said widespread showers, most frequent in the west, will turn increasingly wintry tonight, with a chance of sleet and snow on higher ground. During the day, patchy rain will spread from the southwest to much of Munster through this evening.

Freezing temperatures are forecast for Friday and Saturday night, with westerly winds becoming strong and gales forecast on coasts. The cold overnight temperatures will bring frosty starts, with icy patches in places. The coldest temperatures are forecast for Sunday night, with lows of minus two in store.

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A status yellow wind warning was in effect overnight for eight counties on the western seaboard. It will be lifted at 9am. However, a status yellow rainfall warning remains in place for south Donegal, Leitrim and parts of Sligo, with 30 to 50mm of rain possible. The rainfall warning will remain in place until 8pm on Friday.

The cold weather will continue into early next week, especially in the mornings. However, winds are currently forecast to be more moderate, amid scattered showers, sunny spells and hazy spells of winter sunshine on Monday and Tuesday.