INLAND COUNTIES of south Leinster and parts of Munster experienced snowfall last night, as wintery conditions returned to the country.
Met Éireann confirmed snowfall last night at their stations at Shannon airport, Kilkenny and Offaly, where about an inch of snow was reported by locals.
The forecaster issued a severe weather warning yesterday as a band of snow and sleet spread across Ireland.
Gardaí and the PSNI issued warnings for motorists to take extreme caution as icy conditions made some local roads "treacherous" yesterday evening.
Temperatures are expected to remain low over the weekend but with sunny spells in some areas.
Snow accumulations of between 2cm and 5cm were expected in midland areas and parts of Munster, Leinster and Ulster, while heavy rain was forecast for southern and eastern coasts.
A small-craft warning was also issued as northeasterly winds reached force 6 at times on coastal waters from Carnsore Point to Roche's Point to Loop Head.
Water restrictions are to remain in place in Dublin this weekend, but storage levels in the capital's reservoirs are improving.
Dublin City Council said yesterday that it will review water supplies on Monday and may begin to lift restrictions. It said a full picture of the supply situation will not be apparent until the middle of next week once schools and colleges have returned from the Christmas break.
Night-time water restrictions were lifted entirely earlier this week in Cork city, Kerry, Limerick city and county, Leitrim, Mayo and Donegal.
However, thousands of residents on the east side of Galway will have no water this weekend, or have a disrupted supply. Galway City Council says it is attempting to increase reservoir levels by restricting supply between 10pm and 7am.
Galway County Council said some farms south of Ballinasloe are affected due to leaks in the Kiltormer and Laurencetown areas.
In the North, two investigations have been announced by the Stormont Executive into the water crisis which saw more than 40,000 homes and business cut off. The North's Utility Regulator will examine NI Water's handling of the freeze and thaw which resulted in a series of bursts which caused havoc across Northern Ireland.
First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have announced a second investigation into the role played by the Department of Regional Development and its Minister, Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy.
The Northern Ireland Met Office reported that December was the coldest month on record. A new low of -18.7 degrees was recorded by the Met Office station in Castlederg, Co Tyrone, where the record was broken twice in the four days just before Christmas.
The same station recorded a continuous sub-zero spell of 211 hours lasting from December 17th until St Stephen's Day.