Met Eireann is forecasting exceptionally cold weather for next week, with significant wind chill and severe frosts.

Disruptive snow showers are expected from Tuesday onwards, particularly in the east and southeast.

Saturday

It will be cold and generally dry on Saturday, with top temperatures of four to six degrees.

Saturday night will see temperatures drop to zero to minus two degrees, with a widespread sharp or severe frost in most places.

Sunday

Frost will clear on Sunday morning to give a cold, dry and mostly sunny day with top temperatures of four to eight degrees.

Sunday night will be very cold, dry and frosty, with overnight lows of one to minus three degrees.

Monday

Monday looks set to be mainly dry, with the odd light snow flurry in eastern areas, later in the day. It will be very cold on Monday night with a severe frost and the risk of snow showers along northern and eastern and southern coastal fringes in moderate easterly winds. Temperature lows of minus two to minus four degrees.

Tuesday

There will be some sunny spells on Tuesday, but cloudier in eastern and southern counties especially, with occasional sleet and snow showers and possibly some more prolonged falls of snow in some parts later in the day.

Daytime temperatures will be two to four degrees Celsius in the midlands and east and five or six degrees in more western and southwestern parts.

Wednesday to Friday

Met Eireann is forecasting extreme cold with severe frosts and daytime temperatures struggling to get above zero by day, especially in eastern counties.

Widespread snow showers at times, most especially in eastern, southern and northern counties and some disruptive accumulations of snow likely in those areas.

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