For certain parts of Ireland, the recent weather has seen some wild swings with temperatures hitting the high teens, only to be shortly followed by spells of hail and snow.
Even by Irish conditions, the month of April has been wildly erratic and this weekend will also see a spell of "unseasonably cold weather" across Ireland.
With temperatures set to drop to -4 in some places and snow expected to fall in western and northwestern areas, the next few days will see daytime temperatures fall below average with some very cold nights and widespread frosts ahead.
Explaining these conditions, Met Éireann meteorologist Emer Flood said: “We’re seeing another spell of cold weather this weekend as an arctic airmass re-establishes across the country through Friday, bringing the chance of scattered wintry showers of sleet, hail and snow over the weekend. Temperatures today, Friday, will reach around 6 to 10 Celsius, followed by a very cold night with a widespread sharp frost as temperatures overnight fall to around -3 in places."
Flood adds: “Saturday will be another cold day with temperatures limited to around 5 to 9 Celsius, once again falling to around -3 in places overnight and another widespread frost with the risk of icy stretches.”
Aside from bright and sunny spells over the weekend, the cold Arctic airmass is also expected to bring the chance of scattered wintry showers of sleet and hail, especially on Saturday.
The forecast predicts that there will also be a risk of thunderstorms and snow showers over the hills and mountains.
Those with an interest in gardening are being warned that the frost can damage some of the more vulnerable plants unless they're taken care of.
As for next week's weather, Flood expects the temperature to rise but the rain will persist.
The forecaster added: “Later on Sunday, conditions will turn less cold, as northerly winds are replaced by slightly milder westerly winds. Monday will be a cloudier day with rain spreading from the west to most areas during the day. Temperatures will be slightly up from the weekend too, with highs of around 7 to 10 Celsius."
In terms of the overall forecast, tonight is set to be very cold with temperatures dropping between -3 to +1 degrees. A sharp to severe frost will develop with the risk of some icy patches.
Thankfully, it will be largely dry as scattered wintry showers move to the south as the night develops but further wintry showers will spread into the north and northwest with a risk of thunderstorms there.
Saturday morning will be cold and dry with spells of sunshine.. However, showers of rain, hail and sleet will fall in the west and northwest tomorrow morning, becoming heavy at times.
These showers will spread throughout the country with the risk of thunderstorms too. Some showers will fall as snow over higher ground.
Counties on the coast will see the majority of the showers on Saturday night but the majority of the country will be dry. Stay warm though because Saturday night will be quite cold with the lowest temperatures of -3 to 0 degrees in general.
As for Sunday morning, another cold and bright start to the day is expected with lots of sunshine and only a few isolated showers.
Any spells of rain will fall mainly in Ulster and Connacht through the day. The majority of the south and east of the country will stay dry with some sunshine.
Sunday night will see outbreaks of rain develop overnight, mainly in the west and northwest. Elsewhere, clear spells are set to persist elsewhere
