Met Éireann has said this weekend will bring cooler days and chilly nights with frost, ice and freezing fog in places.

The national forecaster also said there will be scattered showers and widespread fog as an area of low pressure stays near the country.

This morning (Friday, January 16), any mist or fog will clear to leave a bright day in most areas. Scattered showers will mostly affect parts of the south and east, some heavy and thundery falls at times with a chance of hail.

Highest afternoon temperatures of 4° to 9°C in light to moderate south-easterly or variable winds.

Weather

Tonight will see scattered showers become mostly confined to coastal areas with dry and clear spells elsewhere.

Widespread fog and possibly freezing fog will develop overnight with as temperatures drop to between -2° to 3°, feeling coldest away from eastern fringes.

Cloudy with scattered showers on Saturday, brighter spells will develop during the day in the east.

It will be a chilly day as temperatures reach highs of just 4° to 8° with light south-easterly or variable breezes.

Mostly dry and cloudy on Saturday night, apart from some showers on coasts. Widespread fog will develop again in places along with frost patches under any clear skies.

There will be lowest temperatures of -2° to 3° in near calm conditions.

Mist and fog may linger in some places on Sunday. It will be generally dry initially but rain and drizzle will push in from the west in the afternoon and gradually clear overnight.

Highest temperatures of 6° to 9° in light to moderate south-easterly breezes.

There is some uncertainty in the forecast for next week but current indications suggest unsettled conditions will continue.

Met Éireann

Met Éireann said that in the coming week rainfall is forecast to be close to normal near the south coast but below normal across the rest of the country.

Temperatures will fluctuate a little over the coming week but overall they will be near or below average.

There will be frost on many nights, however not in all areas. Soil temperatures are generally average, ranging between 3.7° and 6.8°.

Drying conditions will be moderate or poor, while there will be some opportunities for spraying until Sunday, away from showers.

Met Éireann said that soils are currently saturated or waterlogged and will remain so this week, with just a slight increase in soil moisture deficits.