Snow showers sweep in from Siberia

Showers of sleet, hail and snow coming from north-west Europe and Siberia will affect most of the east coast of the country throughout the week, Met Éireann has said.

The very cold weather that swept in overnight on Sunday will prevail throughout the country this week, but most of the sleet and snow will fall in the east.

"It will be very cold everywhere, but a lot of the country will be dry. The east, however, is likely to see further falls of sleet, hail and snow, which will penetrate a certain distance inland," said Met Éireann forecaster Mr Pat Clarke.

Night-time temperatures will generally be below freezing, falling to -2 to -3 degrees in places. Temperatures will remain very low throughout the day, with expected highs of only 4 to 6 degrees.

Mr Clarke said the north-east winds would make the weather feel particularly cold.

"Normally at this time of the year the winds blow in from the west, and are usually milder because the Atlantic seas are relatively warm. But now the winds are blowing down from the east, and all of Europe is being affected by the cold Siberian air."

He said sleet and snow were not unusual at this time of year, but February had been milder in previous years. The air temperatures were lower than the last cold snap at Christmas and early January. However, the snow falls were not likely to be significantly heavier.

He said snow was already accumulating on high ground, particularly on the Wicklow hills. Whether the snow stayed on lower ground would depend on the time of day it falls. Snow falling at midday was unlikely to build up but snow falling at dawn could freeze and stick.