Winter is coming (finally) – but Kilkenny may escape snow: Met Éireann

IT’s time to crank up the heater get the de-icer out.

Winter, it appears, is finally upon us as the first true cold snap of the season replaces the unseasonably mild temperatures we’ve enjoyed over the past six weeks.

Officially, we are now past the midway point of the meteorological winter, which ends on February 28, but the long spell of mild weather looks set to wind down. And the second half of winter 2018-19 brings a risk of colder weather.

In the short term, Met Éireann has forecast a frosty, albeit sunny, start to the week after temperatures dropped to lows of -2 degrees in areas last night.

It will become cloudy with rain extending eastwards towards Kilkenny and Leinster this evening, with occasionally heavy showers.

Rain in eastern counties will clear early tonight, with scattered showers continuing to feed in across the country from the Atlantic.

Met Éireann said: “Some of the showers will be heavy and possibly thundery, and they will turn increasingly wintry overnight, falling as a mixture of rain, hail, sleet and snow, producing a heightened risk of icy stretches on untreated surfaces.”

Tuesday will also be very cold with sunny spells and widespread showers. The showers will continue to be wintry in nature, falling as a mixture of rain, hail, sleet and snow.

However, as Irish Weather Online has pointed out, forecast temperatures are not as ideal for snow as they were in late February and early March last year.

Snow can fall when temperatures are between 0C and 2C, but snowflakes can melt by the time they hit the ground.