Met Eireann has confirmed two days of 'wintry showers' as other weather experts warn that a 'northern plunge' will hit Ireland over the festive period.
Stephen's Day and December 27 will be rocked by wintry showers and sub zero temperatures as the Christmas weekend takes a freezing turn according to the National Forecaster.
While weather expert Carlow Weather has warned that it's "time to get used to the cold".
He added: "Weather models continue to show a Northern plunge of cold after Christmas. This has been consistent on models for some time now but the finer details are far from clear. Does it look cold? Yes! Does it look snowy? Far from clear yet.
"The weather model ensembles are very consistent now for a prolonged cold spell into early next year."
Here's how the Christmas forecast is looking according to Met Eireann:
Today: "Starting off mostly dry today with sunny spells this morning. Cloud will increase with rain spreading northwards this evening. A cold day with highs of just 5 or 6 degrees in a light variable breeze. Outbreaks of rain continuing. Lows of 2 to 4 degrees in freshening northerly winds, becoming strong on the coast."
Tomorrow: "A wet and windy start, with the rain slowly clearing through the afternoon and evening. The last of the rain will not clearing until after dark. Highs of 6 or 7 degrees in fresh to strong northerly winds. Becoming mostly dry and clear on Wednesday night, with isolated showers in the north. Lows of -2 to +2 degrees, with a sharp frost and a risk of icy patches. Moderate northerly winds, easing light northwesterly by morning."
Christmas Eve: "Mostly dry with sunny spells. Cloud will increase through the afternoon with a few light showers in the northwest. Highs of 5 to 7 degrees, with northwesterly winds easing.
Dry on Thursday night with cloud increasing from the west. Clear spells early in the night and light winds will allow temperatures to drop to -2 to +2 degrees, coldest in the east. Some patches of mist and fog will mean Rudolf will probably have to lead Santa's sleigh."
Christmas Day: "Rather cloudy, but mostly dry apart from a little drizzle in the west and north later in the day. Feeling slightly milder than previous days with highs of 6 to 9 degrees, in light to moderate southwest winds. A band of light rain will cross the country from the northwest Friday night, with lows of 4 to 7 degrees."
Stephen's Day: "A wet and windy day, with heavy rain extending from the northwest to all areas through the afternoon and evening. Strong westerly winds with gales on western coasts. Highs of 5 to 9 degrees. Rain clearing southeastwards Saturday night, with showers following and turning wintry in the north and west. Lows of zero to +2 degrees."
Sunday: "A cold day with sunny spells and wintry showers. The showers most frequent in the north and west. Maximum temperatures of just 3 to 6 degrees, in blustery northwesterly winds."
