So much for spring.
Sunny spells and temperatures reaching the high teens at the end of February gave us all plenty of hope for what March could bring, but such optimism has been well and truly dashed in the first week of the month.
After snowfall in many parts of the country at the weekend, conditions will remain similarly wintry over the coming days, with Met Éireann forecasting plenty of wintry showers, sleet and temperatures dropping below freezing from Thursday right through to the end of the weekend.
Thursday will be a mixed bag of a day with sunny spells and passing showers, with temperatures dropping significantly at night to as low as a degree below freezing in places.
Friday will start dry and bright and temperatures will hit highs of 13 degrees, but rain developing in the west will spread across the country in the afternoon, and it is in the west where the worst conditions will prevail on a wet and breezy evening.
It’s on Saturday that conditions will really start to turn. A blustery day is forecast with bands of showery rain falling as sleet in places, with areas of high ground in Ulster likely to be the worst affected.
As day turns into evening, rain will turn wintry, with temperatures dropping to between one and four degrees on what is likely to be a bitterly cold night.
Sunday isn’t much better as conditions are expected to be very cold and blustery, albeit with a very Irish forecast for “sunny spells and wintry showers”. Temperatures will hit no higher than five degrees and widespread frost is expected on Sunday night as the mercury again hovers close to zero.
Current indications for early next week are for unsettled conditions with wet and windy weather at times and some wintry showers; fingers crossed there’s a sharp improvement the closer we get to St. Patrick’s weekend.
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