Cold snap to follow New Year's washout as Met Eireann issues weather warnings

A mild Christmas is set to give way to periods of intense rainfall and powerful winds over the coming days, followed by a sharp cold snap by the middle of the week, with an arctic air mass set to bring wintry showers.

Status yellow rain warnings have been issued for Cork, Kerry and Donegal.

Persistent or heavy rain is forecast in the three counties, with the possibility of localised flooding and hazardous driving conditions.

Met Éireann said it will become windier on Monday evening and wind speeds could reach near gale force in the west of the country. A wind warning in is place for counties Mayo, Galway and Donegal from midnight until 11am on Tuesday, while gale warnings are in place for all coasts off Ireland and the Irish Sea from 9pm until 6pm tomorrow.

Wind warnings are in place today ( Monday) with further warnings in place for tomorrow.

New Years Day will see heavy rain for a time, mainly in the east and south, with some falls of sleet or snow possible too. This will clear away southeastwards during the day. It may be windy in parts for a time too with winds becoming northwesterly and gradually easing. Some sunny spells will develop with showers in parts. Highest temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees, but it'll become cold everywhere through the evening.

Met Éireann said temperatures across the country will start to drop sharply over the latter part of New Year’s Eve and into the early hours of January 1st and in some cases may fall to -6, with widespread frost and localised wintry showers forecast.

The weather is expected to remain very cold for the remainder of the week with highest daily temperatures of 1 to 5 degrees in mostly dry and clear conditions. Met Éireann has also warned of patches of fog and freezing fog overnight during the cold spell.