New year reasons to be cheerful: Mild, dry weather

The unseasonably mild temperatures from recent days are set to continue through the weekend with dry conditions expected as Ireland rings in 2019 early next week.

Organisers making arrangements for outdoor New Year's Eve celebrations taking place countrywide, including Dublin's annual NYF festival in the city centre, can rest assured that Monday's conditions will most likely be dry and mild.

Met Éireann is expecting a "predominantly dry day" on New Year's Eve with top temperatures of between 7 to 10 degrees, while the high pressure over Europe will continue to extend mild conditions over Ireland through the first day of 2019.

New Year’s Day is set to be dry once again, but with the possibility of patches of rain or drizzle and maximum temperatures between 8 to 11 degrees.

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The national outlook for the coming days is expected to be similar to the Christmas period so far, with mostly dry weather on Saturday and temperatures reaching 8 to 12 degrees.There will be patches of rain or drizzle on Saturday which could turn persistent for a time in the west and northwest.

Overnight rain on Saturday is due to clear by Sunday morning, bringing mild temperatures and some sunshine in areas.

The mild weather is expected to continue through the first few days of 2019 with the high pressure spreading across Europe.