Met Éireann in major weather u-turn with brutal weather to miss Ireland - for now

Met Éireann has said Ireland will enjoy largely dry conditions for the foreseeable future in a glorious weather u-turn after a series of storms.

Their outlook for this week and into next week predicts conditions being "mainly dry weather as high pressure dominates."

They are forecasting overnight temperatures dipping as low as -3 in places but the worst of a cold blast that will impact the UK looks set to miss Ireland. 

Met Éireann says Tuesday night will be "predominately dry while becoming increasingly cloudy. However, patchy drizzle will develop in the northwest.

"Lowest temperatures of 4 to 9 degrees, coldest in the southeast with the best of the clear spells. West to southwest winds will be mostly moderate but increasing fresh to strong on northwest coasts.

"Wednesday will be mostly dry and cloudy with just a little patchy light rain or drizzle at times, mainly in Connacht and Ulster. The best of any sunny breaks will be in the south and southeast. Highest temperatures of 11 to 13 degrees with moderate to fresh westerly winds, strong at times near northern and northwestern coasts.

"Wednesday night will be mild and mostly cloudy with scattered patches of drizzle, especially over the northern half of the country. Lowest temperatures of 8 to 10 degrees in moderate to fresh westerly breezes."

They say "Thursday will be mostly cloudy and mainly dry. The best of any sunny breaks will be in southern and eastern parts of Munster and Leinster. Patchy light rain or drizzle will mainly affect parts of Connacht and Ulster. Highest temperatures of 11 to 13 degrees in a moderate westerly breeze. On Thursday night, patchy rain and drizzle will move southwards and some clear spells will develop further north overnight. Lowest temperatures of 4 to 8 degrees in a moderate northwest breeze.

"On Friday morning, patchy drizzle will clear to the south. It will be a cold, bright day with sunny spells developing. Highest temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees, coldest in Ulster and mildest in the southwest with light to moderate northerly breezes. Friday night will be cold with frost and icy patches developing as well as some mist and fog patches. Lowest temperatures of -3 to +2 degrees.

"Saturday will be a cold and bright day with sunny spells. Highest temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees with light variable breezes. Early on Saturday will be dry with clear spells. Frost will develop as temperatures fall to between -3 and +3 degrees. Later in the night, outbreaks of rain and drizzle will move in from the west.

"Sunday looks like being mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain and drizzle spreading eastwards. Highest temperatures of 6 to 10 degrees with light southerly breezes."

Beyond that, "current indications suggest that the early days of next week will be quite cold with a good deal of dry weather and some patchy rain or drizzle at times," according to forecasters.

Meanwhile, Alan O'Reilly has said the worst of the cold weather this week will miss Ireland but we could get a cold blast soon.

"When you see the UK outlets talk about an Arctic Plunge remember it often doesn’t cross the Irish Sea. Cooler air will flood down into many parts of Europe and parts of UK but Saturday but at present it doesn’t look to really reach us.

"There is a chance of another blast of cold around the start of Winter (December 1st) but very uncertain yet and once again Ireland could escape the real cold but I’ll be keeping a close eye. Looking forward to my first snowy mountain hike of the season," he added.