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A status yellow warning for ice and low temperatures is in place in Ireland for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Met Éireann have forecast widespread sharp frost with icy stretches and lowest temperatures of -3 degrees in many areas, which may lead to some travel disruption.
The weather warning is in place from 7pm Tuesday until 10am on Wednesday morning.
Scattered showers will continue over the N half of Ireland & along the W coast then will mostly die out early tonight, but will continue for a time near NE coasts ☔️
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) January 4, 2022
Tonight will be clear & very cold with widespread sharp or severe frost
Lows of 0 & -3C #BeWinterReady pic.twitter.com/wAspA2a148
The Road Safety Authority have warned drivers to be aware of potential travel disruption during those hours. The alert comes after a weather advisory was in place countrywide last night for a mix of rain, sleet and snow.
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It will remain mostly cold up to the weekend, according to Met Éireann. But a spell of rain on Wednesday night will bring a brief milder interlude before the cold weather returns on Thursday.
Liz Walsh, a forecaster with Met Éireann, said on Monday the weather will be "changeable" for the remainder of the week, as opposed to a lengthy cold period.
Westerly winds
Tuesday night will be cold and largely dry with long clear spells and lowest temperatures of -3 to 0 degrees generally. A widespread sharp frost is expected to develop in light to moderate westerly winds.
Wednesday will have a cold and frosty start, with frost slow to clear in some places through the morning. There will be rain that night, turning to sleet on some higher ground. The rain will be heavy in places, with localised flooding possible.
Thursday will be a windy day with rain in the morning, which will gradually clear eastwards through the morning. It will be followed from the west by blustery showers, sleet and hail, most frequent in Atlantic coastal counties. Cold temperatures will return on Thursday night, with showers of rain, hail and sleet continuing to feed in from the west.
Similar conditions are forecast for Friday, with scattered showers of rain, hail and sleet, most frequent in western and northern coastal areas.