Anyone dreaming of a White Christmas could be in luck as a cold snap has been forecast for the festive season.
Ireland is currently enjoying settled conditions as high pressure dominates over the country - but things will take a turn just before Christmas.
Met Eireann say that while it is still too early to say with certainty what weather Ireland can expect on Christmas Day, things will turn “unsettled” early next week and there are “some early signs of a possible cold spell” over the Christmas period.
With unsettled conditions taking over and colder air in the mix, there is a chance of snow on the big day.
Some long-range weather models - which are subject to change - show parts of Ireland blanketed in snow on December 25.
One map from wxcharts shows snow across much of the north and west on Christmas Day.
Weather expert Alan O’Reilly gave his analysis while sharing more weather models on his Carlow Weather Twitter account on Saturday morning.
He wrote: “Weather models show dry settled weather for most up to Wednesday but after that is uncertain.
“There is a trend to colder weather but just how cold is the question. The scatter in lines shows the uncertainty. You can still dream of a white Christmas, there still is a chance!"
It comes as the UK is preparing for a ‘snow bomb’ in the final weeks of December with severe gales and heavy winds forecasted.
British forecasters are predicting freezing temperatures and the potential for some snow due to wet and windy weather heading in from the south west.
