KILKENNY WEATHER: Brace yourself! Met Éireann warns snow, sleet and thunderstorms to hit this weekend

Kilkenny and the rest of the country are braced for a dramatic change in weather conditions as an arctic blast sets in over the weekend.

After a cold and windy start, widespread showers – heavy with hail, sleet and thunderstorms – will hit the country tomorrow.

Met Éireann said: “Showers mainly in western areas at first will become widespread in the afternoon. Some showers will be heavy with hail, sleet and isolated thunderstorms. By evening some of the showers will fall as snow, especially over higher ground in parts of the west and northwest. Feeling colder with highest afternoon temperatures of just 5 to 8 degrees, and much colder by evening. An added wind chill factor in fresh to strong and gusty southwest to west winds, reaching gale force at times in some western coastal parts.”

Widespread showers will continue early on Friday night, some of them wintry, with hail, sleet and snow and an ongoing risk of isolated thunderstorms. The national forecaster added: “The showers will gradually become confined to Atlantic coastal counties overnight. Westerly winds will be fresh to strong and gusty at first but they will ease down through the night. Lowest temperatures of 0 to 3 degrees, with a risk of frost in sheltered spots.”

Tomorrow will start out mostly dry, with sunny spells in the east and north. Outbreaks of rain and drizzle will develop in western coastal counties during the morning, but will spread to the rest of the county through the afternoon and evening.

Met Éireann said: “The rain will turn persistent and heavy in parts of the west towards evening, accompanied by increasingly strong and gusty south to southwest winds. Highest temperatures of 8 to 10 degrees. Wet and very windy for a time on Saturday night, with gales near coasts. Rain will give way to showers from the west overnight and winds will become southwesterly and moderate somewhat. Lowest temperatures overnight will range 4 to 7 degrees, coldest over Ulster and north Connacht.”

Sunday will be a breezy day with some bright or sunny spells early on, but it will be mostly cloudy with scattered outbreaks of rain and drizzle, with highest temperatures of between 10 to 12 degrees.

Monday will be mostly cloudy and mild with outbreaks of rain and drizzle, but these will be heaviest and most persistent in the north and northwest. The national forecaster said: “Winds will be mostly moderate to fresh southwesterly, strong to near gale on coasts, but light cyclonic variable breezes will affect parts of Ulster and north Connacht. Highest temperatures will range 12 to 16 degrees.”

Met Éireann said current indications suggest there will be “a transition towards cooler and drier conditions” by mid-week next week.