Ireland weather: Met Eireann issues new snow and ice warning to five counties 

Met Éireann has issued a Status Yellow snow and ice warning to five counties ahead of chilly conditions on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The national forecaster issued the warning to Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Louth, a warning that will come into effect at 10pm on Saturday night and remain in place until 9am on Sunday morning.

Met Éireann has warned of poor visibility, temporary ice patches and difficult travelling conditions in the affected counties as a result.

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The warnings come as 13 counties are already affected by Status Yellow wind warnings in effect in Ireland and Northern Ireland, some of which will remain in place until Sunday afternoon.

A warning issued by the UK Met Office for five of the six counties in Northern Ireland - Antrim, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry - came into effect at 7am on Saturday morning and will remain in place until just before midnight on Saturday night.

A Met Éireann wind warning affecting Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo, meanwhile, came into effect at 3am on Saturday morning and will remain in place until 2pm on Sunday.

Clare, Kerry and Limerick are also affected by a separate Met Éireann wind warning that came into effect at 3pm on Saturday and will remain in place until 3pm on Sunday.

In all eight counties on the western seaboard, Met Éireann has warned of the potential for wave overtopping and/or spray, difficult travelling conditions, especially near the coast and some fallen trees.

Check out the Met Éireann forecast for the coming days below.

Saturday

Rain in the south and east will clear quickly this morning, then it will be a windy day with sunshine and showers. Fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds will reach gale force along Atlantic coasts. Afternoon temperatures 6 to 10 degrees.

Saturday night will still be windy with showers becoming widespread overnight, some heavy and wintry with a mix of rain, hail, sleet and snow, the snow mainly on hills and in the north of the country. Lowest temperatures 2 to 4 degrees with fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds veering northwesterly overnight.

Sunday

Sunday morning will continue windy with blustery showers, some heavy with a mix of rain, hail, sleet and possibly some snow, becoming confined to the west and north in the afternoon. Fresh to strong and gusty northwesterly winds will reach gale force on western and northern coasts. Winds will begin to ease towards evening. Afternoon temperatures 5 to 8 degrees.

On Sunday night, showers will gradually become isolated and there'll be clear spells for a time. Cloud will increase from the west overnight with rain and drizzle developing there by morning. Lowest temperatures 2 to 5 degrees with northwest winds easing and veering westerly.

Monday

On Monday, light rain or drizzle will spread eastwards through the morning and continue for the rest of the day. Light to moderate southerly winds will bring a change in temperature, with temperatures slowly rising to reach 10 to 13 degrees in the afternoon.

Christmas Eve - St. Stephen’s Day

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St. Stephen's Day will all be mostly cloudy and apart from some light rain or drizzle at times it'll be mostly dry. Day time temperatures will reach 11 or 12 degrees with little or no change in temperature through the night.

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