17 December 2018 06:10

Today

This morning any frost will soon clear and it will start mostly dry and dull with a few bright spells in the east. However, it will be cloudy in the west with outbreaks of rain and drizzle spreading eastwards during the morning and early afternoon. Later in the evening the rain will turn persistent and heavy in the west with the risk of spot flooding. Southerly winds will be moderate to fresh and gusty but during the afternoon winds will increase strong with gales developing near Atlantic coasts. Afternoon temperatures will be around 9 to 12 degrees.

Tonight

Tonight rain will turn very heavy in the west with the risk of thundery downpours at times. The spell of very heavy rain will slowly spread eastwards with the risk of spot flooding. South to southeast winds will increase further to reach gale force with severe gusts. Near coasts winds will reach gale to strong gale force. Later in the night winds will veer southwest and moderate over the western half of the country. It will be relatively mild overnight of 8 to 11 degrees, but falling to around 5 to 7 degrees in the west around dawn.

Tomorrow

There will be heavy rain over Ulster and Leinster on Tuesday morning followed by a clearance from the west to scattered showers and some sunny spells later. Some of the showers will be heavy with the risk of hail or thunder, especially in the west. It will turn cooler with the clearance with afternoon temperatures of just 6 to 9 degrees. South to southwest winds will moderate to fresh but over the east winds will still be strong to gale force for a time in the morning.