THE WEATHER IS set to stay cold and windy today with temperatures possibly dropping below freezing tonight.

There will be scattered showers in Connacht and Ulster, falling as hail, sleet and snow on high ground. Winds will then ease this evening, the forecaster said. 

Met Éireann said temperatures will reach highs of four to six degrees Celsius today. 

Tonight will start mainly dry with clear spells and a few showers in Ulster. It will become cloudy and rainy in the west – this will spread eastwards to most areas by the morning. 

Temperatures will fall to between minus one and one degrees Celsius this evening. 

The eastern half of the country will remain cold tomorrow but milder conditions will develop in the west with temperatures creeping up to nine or ten degrees. 

Tomorrow will be dull and damp to start but will brighten up becoming mostly dry with some sunny spells developing.  

In Northern Ireland, a Status Yellow wind warning is in place for all counties until 6pm this evening in the wake of Storm Arwen.

A man died yesterday after his car was hit by a falling tree in Co Antrim. 

The UK has felt the full force of Storm Arwen with gusts of almost 160 kilometres per hour battering some areas.

The Met Office said speeds hit 157kph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland. Wind speeds reached 140kph in Orlock Head, Co Down.

People were still advised to only travel if absolutely necessary, and the Met Office described gusts overnight as “damaging” and having affected “a wide swathe of the United Kingdom”.

Northern Powergrid said severe gales had caused power cuts for more than 55,000 customers, mainly in the Northumberland, County Durham and Tyne and Wear areas.

Additional reporting by Press Association.