Storm Justine brings risk of snow on Sunday
On Sunday morning there is the risk of heavy snow developing for a time across many parts of the north Midlands as an active Atlantic weather system pushes eastwards across the country, encountering very cold air.
Cathal Nolan of Ireland Weather Online explains the "battleground" scenario.
"Starting tomorrow, Saturday, it will be a pretty overcast day in many parts of the Midlands.
"There will be a band of rain lying across the country that could turn to sleet, however the only chance of snow through tomorrow is likely to be across higher ground in Wicklow," he explains.
"Going into Saturday evening and Saturday night, much colder air will filter in from the north and there will be particular icy conditions on Saturday night into Sunday morning, and that’s certainly something to take note of," he continues.
"Now it’s on Sunday morning itself that we see the most difficult situation to try and predict. Weather fronts pushing in from the west, will interact with the very cold air already be in place and in many parts of the north Midlands, into south Ulster, and parts of north and east Connacht."
Nolan says however that it is a "marginal situation" where half a degree either way will determine which areas will seee heavy falls of snow.
"Subtle differences in altitude will make a big difference as well, so for example, parts of Westmeath above 100 - 150m have a higher chance of seeing snow, than in areas that are 80m above sea level - it’s that fine of a margin that you’re trying to call.
“But certainly there is the risk for parts of Westmeath on Sunday to see snowfall in the range of between 5-10cm in some places.
"There’s also a chance that parts of Offaly could see some wintry precipitation, on mountains and hills, but it’s slightly less of chance because it’s further south.
Next week
Next week is guaranteed to be colder than average, with a greater risk of snow.
"From midweek on, it’s likely that we’ll see winds switching around into an east or north-east direction, which would draw in very, very cold air. But at the same time there are still weather fronts to the west that are trying to bump their way and dislodge that cold air," continues Nolan.
“At the moment, there are signs that some of these systems pushing into the cold air and turning to snow as they do so, giving some substantial falls of snow in places.
“It could be the case that the easterly wind is quite strong and wins out, and in such a scenario then we’d see heavy wintry showers pushing in off the Irish Sea, providing snowfall to parts of the east and Midlands.
“So at the moment, in either scenario, there’s certainly an increased chance of snow next week from midweek towards the end of next week, so probably a return to wintry conditions next week.