A white Christmas could be on its way for Ireland with a cold snap forecast for the festive season.
It marks a big change from the unusually mild temperatures Ireland has been enjoying thanks to an area of high pressure that is building over the country.
However as we move closer to Christmas day, temperatures are due to plummet.
And some weather models - while subject to change - show heavy snow for parts of Ireland on the 25th.
Weather expert Alan O’Reilly shared the news on his Carlow Weather Twitter account, saying: “Latest ECMWF shifts cold a little North but that results in heavy snow in the North and Northwest Christmas Day!
“However GFS shows no snow so it’s still wait and see.”
Met Eireann has refused to rule out a white Christmas, and their latest forecast for next week says: “Turning more unsettled later in the week and potentially becoming colder too.”
In a blog post on their website, meteorologist Deirdre Lowe, said: “Most of us will enjoy a spell of dry and quiet weather in the lead up to Christmas, it’ll be fairly cloudy though, and some spots will see a little patchy mist or drizzle in thicker cloud.
“It’ll turn a bit colder over the weekend too, with daytime temperatures around 6 to 9 Celsius.
“It’s still too early to say with certainty what weather we can expect on Christmas Day.
“At the moment, it looks like the current blocking high pressure will be replaced by low pressure, increasing the chance of unsettled weather.
“There’re also some early signs of a possible cold spell over the Christmas period, but it’s still very uncertain, so keep an eye on the latest Met Eireann forecast.”
It comes as the UK is preparing for more stormy weather, with a ‘snow bomb’ forecast there.
Parts are due to be blasted by wind, snow and rain as another storm is due to hit there around December 27.
