A freezing weekend is in store for many places with temperatures set to plummet on Saturday and Sunday.
Friday will see the winds slacken after several days during which they have been very strong, with a cold spell to follow this weekend and early next week.
Wind speeds peaked on Thursday at 122km/h at Mace Head in Co Galway. Roches Point in Galway, Belmullet in Co Mayo and Finner in Co Donegal also recorded wind speeds of more than 100km/h.
Approximately 1,000 houses were affected by power outages from the high winds mostly in western counties including Limerick, Galway and Mayo. There is also fallen debris and trees in some places.
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Friday will be breezy with temperatures of between 7 and 9 degrees. Strong northerly winds will bring a wind chill factor to the weekend’s weather. There will be highs of between 4 and 7 degrees on Saturday, but it will feel a lot colder because of the wind chill factor.
Temperatures will fall on Saturday overnight to minus 2 with frost and icy stretches developing.
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Sunday will see falls of sleet at times during the day and then temperatures will drop to between minus 3 and minus 4 overnight. Roads and footpaths will be treacherous and patches of freezing will also develop.
The cold temperatures will continue into the middle of next week with another freezing night on Monday night. Temperatures will rise no higher than between 1 and 3 degrees on Tuesday but it will be dry with no prospect of snow. Wednesday is forecast be the last day of the current cold snap.
