THERE COULD BE some wintry spells this week as temperatures see a marked drop from the warm weekend weather.

The highest temperature seen yesterday was at Mace Head in Co Galway, which hit 17.6 degrees.

It’s cooler today though still quite warm in places, with highest temperature of 9 to 11 degrees in Ulster and east Leinster but highs of between 12 and 15 degrees elsewhere.

It was a dry start for most this morning and a few patches of drizzle are possible, most likely across Ulster and south Munster.

It will turn cold tonight though and throughout the week, with mainly dry, clear spells in most areas overnight.

There’ll be a bit more cloud in parts of Leinster and Munster, and perhaps a little drizzle, with lowest temperatures tonight of -1 to +4 degrees with frost developing, mainly over the northern half of the country.

Met Éireann forecasts that any frost tomorrow morning will give way to a mainly dry day with sunny spells, though in the evening, scattered showers will move down over Ulster.

But it’ll be quite cold, with highest temperatures of 6 to 8 degrees.

Tuesday night will be another cold night with clear spells, though scattered showers will move southwards overnight.

Some of these could be wintry, especially on high ground, with lowest temperatures of 0 to +4 degrees.

It’ll then be a cold start to Wednesday, breezy and with sunny spells and some scattered showers, a few possibly wintry on some hills in the east and north.

Highest temperatures on Wednesday of 5 to 8 degrees and Wednesday night will be cold with clear spells and a few wintry showers, with lowest temperatures -1 to +4 degrees with some frost.

Thursday and Friday will both be cold with a good deal of dry weather, but with some showers also, a few of which may be wintry, mainly in the east and north.

Highest temperatures on Thursday and Friday of 6 to 9 degrees and this will be followed by cold nights with frost, especially on Friday night when temperatures will fall to between -2 and 0 degrees.

Saturday and Sunday will then be mainly dry with bright or sunny spells and mostly light breezes.

Day time temperatures will range from 7 to 10 degrees, and the weekend nights will be cold with frost and some patches of mist or fog.