A STATUS YELLOW rain warning is in place for Cork and Kerry ahead of an expected drop in temperatures for the country tonight. 

Met Éireann has warned that the new year will bring a cold snap, with temperatures expected to drop as low as -4C by Thursday. 

The rain warning will remain in place for Cork and Kerry until 6am tomorrow, with the possibility of localised flooding and hazardous travelling conditions.

A Status Yellow wind warning had been in place in Donegal, Galway and Mayo, but has just been lifted. 

The national forecaster had said that strong to gale force winds could result in fallen branches or trees, loose objects being displaced, difficult travelling conditions and wave overtopping due to onshore winds and high seas, particularly during high tide times. 

The UK Met Office has also issued in Yellow wind warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry, which will remain in place until 2pm this afternoon.

Temperature drop

It comes ahead of an expected drop in the temperature this evening. 

Making plans for New Year's Eve? 🎆

🗒️Some wet & windy weather to close out 2024 followed by a cold start to 2025

➡️Checkout out our end of year forecast

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— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 30, 2024

Met Éireann has said it will remain cloudy and wet this morning before the rain clears to scattered showers across the northern half of the country later this afternoon. Temperatures will be between 8 to 11 degrees with fresh to strong southwesterly breezes.

Tonight will see further scattered showers across Ulster and north Connacht, while it will be cloudy elsewhere with spells of rain at times, heaviest in the south of the country. 

The rain will clear southeastwards overnight and it will turn colder, with lowest temperatures of 2 to 5 degrees.

Any overnight rain will clear quickly from the south early tomorrow morning. The day is expected to be bright with sunny spells and scattered showers, most frequent in the west and the north. Some of the showers may turn wintry later in the day.

Temperatures will reach highs of 5 to 8 degrees, but frost will set in quickly after dark.

Thursday will be largely dry, sunny and cold with just a few light showers along north facing coasts. It will turn colder overnight with lowest temperatures of -4 to +1 degrees with widespread frost.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1 this morning, Carlow Weather’s Alan O’Reilly said those returning to work on Thursday might be in for “a bit of a shock”. 

“It will feel like -5 or -6 and some frost and icy conditions, and staying bitterly cold through Thursday, Friday and even into Saturday,” he said.

O’Reilly said that the weather models were not in agreement, and while some show that a low pressure system could bring milder weather over the country at the weekend, other models have shown that the low pressure system “would stay in the cold air right through the weekend and into the first half of next week”. 

O’Reilly also said the weather over the Christmas period had been “unusually mild”.

“Some parts of the West were windier and a bit damper, but even when it is 10 or 11 degrees, it doesn’t particularly feel that when it’s not nice weather,” he said.

“I think most people would be conscious of the fact of how mild it’s been. Ireland, actually, was one of the warmest countries in Europe this morning with temperatures above 10 degrees.”

Hogmanay festivities cancelled

In the UK, there are multiple Met Office weather warnings in place until tomorrow. 

London’s City Hall has said it is “monitoring the weather” ahead of the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations after some of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festivities were cancelled due to bad weather.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay said: “Due to ongoing high winds and inclement weather in Edinburgh city centre, we regret to announce that outdoor events scheduled for Monday and 31 December are unable to go ahead on the grounds of public safety.

“The cancellation includes tonight’s Night Afore Disco Party in West Princes Street Gardens and, on December 31, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party, Concert in the Gardens and the midnight fireworks from Edinburgh Castle.

“We have been unable to continue with preparations and necessary set-up for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay outdoor events due to extreme weather and forecast conditions. Therefore, for safety reasons, we, along with our event partners, have taken the difficult decision to cancel all outdoor events.”

A yellow weather warning of heavy rain and snow is currently in force across most of Scotland for today, while an amber warning for rain is in place for an area around Inverness.

It is understood there are currently no plans to cancel any New Year’s Eve events in London, but a spokesperson for the mayor confirmed local authorities were continuing “to monitor the weather forecast closely”.