Sleet or snow possible later this week as temperatures fall to near freezing

According to Met Éireann's extended forecast for the week, the mercury will hover around the 1C on Wednesday night and on Thursday morning, as colder polar maritime air extends from the North Atlantic. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

After a few days of relatively mild weather, temperatures look set to drop to the low single digits later this week, leading to a chance of snowfall.

According to Met Éireann's extended forecast for the week, the mercury will hover around the 1C on Wednesday night and on Thursday morning, as colder polar maritime air extends from the North Atlantic.

As such, the forecaster says that some wintry precipitation "cannot be ruled out" over the latter part of the week.

Conditions today are expected to be mainly dry with sunny spells, though some cloud will develop by the afternoon. Temperatures today will be around 10C or 11C in light to moderate westerly winds.

Mainly dry & sunny #today, clouding in during the afternoon, with patches of light rain or drizzle developing in the north later🌞⛅️🌦️

Highest temps of 9 to 12 C🌡️

Moreℹ️https://t.co/5CNkT5HPiC pic.twitter.com/cP0UuMTZn8

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 19, 2024

Tonight, temperatures will fall back to between 7C and 9C.

Tomorrow will some showers extending southwards across the country, though this is expected to clear from the northwest. Temperatures tomorrow will range from 9C to 12C in fresh southwesterly winds.

Wednesday is forecast to begin quite rainy, with showers clearing eastwards as the morning progresses. However, Met Éireann says the clearance of these showers will "introduce much colder weather". Indeed, as temperatures fall to around the 1C mark, showers from the west overnight may fall as snow or sleet, particularly in the west and north of the country.

Thursday will also be quite cold, with see some longer spells of rain likely in the west. Again, Met Éireann says there is a chance this may turn to sleet or snow at times. Temperatures on Thursday will range between 5C and 9C in fresh southwest winds. Thursday night will be quite cold and frosty, with temperatures expected to range from 2C to about 4C.

Conditions will remain somewhat unsettled on Friday, with the combination of single-digit temperatures and showers again giving rise to the likelihood of sleet or snow, particularly along the west coast.