The chances of a white Christmas are the best they have been in many years, according to Met Éireann, with freezing and showery spells forecast for the coming weekend.
Conditions will remain mild until late this evening, but will turn colder overnight, with gales expected tomorrow. Temperatures are then expected to plummet to well below freezing during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
According to Met Éireann, winds from Greenland are due to sweep into the north and north-west of the country. As a result, any showers in those areas are "very likely to be snow or at least sleet". Coastal areas are to be worst affected, with heavy showers expected to hit Ireland before easing off in inland areas.
A spokesman for Met Éireann said: "The highest temperatures are only likely to reach 2 or 3 degrees Celsius. However, when one considers the high wind-chill factor that will be present, conditions are more likely to feel as low as minus three or four degrees."
Bookmakers yesterday slashed the odds on a white Christmas, with brisk business reported.
Odds of 5/2 for snow on Saturday were being offered, compared to odds of 8/1 last week.
A spokesman for Paddy Power said the bookmakers hadn't seen as much interest in betting on snowfall on Christmas Day for years.
A white Christmas is only officially recorded if snowfall is registered at Met Éireann's station at Dublin Airport.
The last time bookmakers paid out on a white Christmas was 1991. According to Met Éireann, there have been only 11 white Christmases since 1941 at Dublin Airport.
Meanwhile, motorists have been warned that driving conditions could be "treacherous" this weekend because of heavy showers and temperatures falling below freezing.
The spokesman said motorists can expect "difficult conditions throughout the country but especially in coastal areas".
The north and north-west regions of the country are to be worst affected, with local councils on standby to deal with roads likely to be cut off as a result of the extreme weather conditions.