Snow forecast for final days of 2017

Ireland’s Christmas winter wonderland is due to arrive a few days late with snow forecast across many parts of the country on Thursday.

Met Éireann has issued a status yellow weather warning for snow and ice across Connacht, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Louth, Wicklow, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary for Thursday.

The forecaster is expecting “patchy accumulations of up to 3cm of snow” on high ground but says small amounts will also fall at lower levels.

The snow is expected to fall in parts of Munster between 7am and 4pm on Thursday and across parts of Leinster, Connacht and Ulster from 4pm onwards.

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Rain is expected to follow which will wash away most accumulations of snow.

A status yellow weather warning is issued when conditions do not pose an immediate threat to the general population but could pose a risk for people in certain outdoor areas.

Thursday morning is expected to be dry with frost and fog slowly clearing. There will be rain in the southwest which will slowly spread northeastward during the afternoon and evening turning to sleet and snow in places.

Temperatures for Thursday will be cold, ranging between zero and 4 degrees.

Thursday night is expected to start dry over Ulster and Leinster with cold and frost sub-zero temperatures leading to icy stretches on roads.

Rain in the south and southwest will spread to all areas overnight and turn to sleet and snow in parts of Ulster and Leinster.

The rain and snow is expected to clear overnight and temperatures will rise to between 3 and 5 degrees by Friday morning.

There is a chance of sleet and snow on Friday morning but this will clear by the afternoon. More rain is expected on Friday evening with spells of sleet and snow. Saturday is expected to start off dry but will become wet and windy through the afternoon.

The final day of 2017 is set to be rainy with temperatures of 5 to 7 degrees expected on Sunday.

Meanwhile in the UK, some 24,000 homes have been left without power after overnight snowstorms.

Up to 7cm of snow was recorded to have fallen over Exmoor, South Wales and the Cotswolds on Tuesday night.

Strong winds were recorded in parts of the south west of the UK, with gusts of up to 50mph across Cornwall.

The UK Environment Agency has also issued 14 flood warnings and 96 flood alerts, mainly in the South West and central England.

Passengers at Birmingham Airport have been warned the snow is likely to impact flights.