Here’s what the weather looks like over Christmas week

Mild and grey, you say?

Christmas week is right around the corner and you're probably wondering what to expect on the weather front. As noted earlier this week, a white Christmas has been effectively ruled out for Ireland, but if you're in Russia there's a pretty strong chance it'll snow so swings and roundabouts and all that. As for us, the latest update from Met Éireann as of Saturday morning (22 December) is to expect a largely "mild and grey" affair, which at least beats some of the stormy conditions we've had to deal with recently. The general outlook is mild, misty and fairly cloudy with a good deal of dry weather (yes!) along with some scattered patches of drizzle at times (fair enough!) and some fog on occasion, too. Here's how it all looks day by day over the next week.

Saturday 22 December

Generally bright and breezy with sunny spells and scattered showers is the word from the Met Éireann team, particularly in western and northern counties. Clouds should increase in southwest areas with top temperatures between seven and 11 degrees celsius forecast. By the evening, some rain will move into the southwest but things should be mostly dry elsewhere. Overnight rain is expected, heavy in parts.

Sunday 23 December

Sunday will bring the odd bright spell but you should mostly prepare for a cloudy and misty enough day along with more rain, likely at its heaviest in the morning. Throw in some patches of fog and you've got an atmosphere going, at least. Top temperatures of six or seven degrees expected in Ulster and Connaught, while it should rise to between nine and 12 degrees elsewhere.

Christmas Eve

Misty and mostly cloudy conditions on Monday, with patchy light rain here and there in the south and west of Ireland. Christmas Eve should mainly be dry, however, with even a few bright and sunny spells on the horizon - especially up north. Temperatures should hit between seven and eight degrees over Ulster and nine to 11 degrees in other areas.

Christmas Day

The big one. While you'll hopefully mostly be chilling out indoors, you can expect very mild conditions from the outside world. Highs of 11 to 13 degrees are forecast, with moderate southerly breezes fresh around the coasts. It will indeed once again be cloudy and misty overall but some bright and short sunny spells should shine through. Mild and misty overnight into Stephen's Day, with persistent rain in northwest coastal areas.

St. Stephen's Day

The pattern continues to emerge as mist, clouds and drizzle get into the festive spirit but once more we should look forward to generally dry weather with the occasional bright spell. A mild day all round with highs of 10 to 12 degrees forecast in moderate southerly breezes.