Temperatures set to drop to minus four

It's set to be a wet and windy start to the New Year. The national weather forecaster is warning that temperatures could drop as low as minus four degrees in some parts over the coming days. Met Éireann also predicts that the cold snap may result in snow in some areas.

While a weather warning for snow in Northern Ireland was cancelled at the start of the week, there still remained a number of Status Yellow weather alerts as an ominous looking Arctic airmass moves towards Europe.

Gale-force winds in some areas further west are expected to cause fallen branches or trees, loose debris, creating difficult travelling conditions with the risk of localised flooding.

Temperatures are expected to fall as low as -4C by Thursday, according to the national weather forecaster who say that showers “may turn wintry at times” particularly on higher ground from Wednesday even.

By the end of the week day time temperatures will struggle to get beyond one to five degrees.

Beyond that, Met Éireann says: “Current indications are that for a rather unsettled weekend with outbreaks of rain and blustery winds. It will remain cold overall but temperatures are likely to recover towards the end of the weekend.”