Rain, hail, sleet, snow and thunder in store for Ireland this weekend

ALL of the weather is happening this weekend.

Parts of the country are still affected by a status yellow snow and ice warning on Wednesday morning and things do not look to be getting better any time soon. Tonight alone, temperatures are set to drop to as low as -2, while Met Éireann has predicted that things will still be pretty bad for the rest of the week and into the weekend. Thursday will bring the cold and the wind, with temperatures once again dropping to below freezing overnight, while Friday will bring the rain, which will continue to get heavier and more widespread as the day turns to night. But then Saturday arrives, and oh boy. We'll let the national weather service describe it for us: "Current indications suggest a cold and blustery day with widespread showers and coastal gales. Many of showers comprised of a wintry mix of rain, hail, sleet and possibly snow. There is also a risk of thunder." Well. That would appear to be ALL of the weather. Well, all of it except the sun, we suppose. There is also still some uncertainty over the actual strength of the wind on Saturday, so don't be too surprised if that develops into a wind warning before the weekend arrives. And beyond that? Well, as we venture into March, it looks like more of the same: "Unsettled. Risk of rain, strong winds and wintry precipitation continuing." Lousy (S)March weather.