Many people may be wishing for a white Christmas this year, while others may dread the thoughts of being snowed in, unable to visit family and exchange gifts.
However, love it or hate it, snow could be on the cards this year as Met Eireann has given its prediction on whether or not the fields will stay green.
A drop in temperatures will be seen as the Christmas weekend arrives, with the forecaster refusing to rule out the chance of some wintry showers.
A band of high pressure will continue to keep the weather settled and largely dry throughout the coming week. However, there are some signs of more unsettled weather arriving from mid-week onwards, turning colder over the Christmas weekend.
Met Éireann 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’ll stay fairly cloudy during the nights which should keep frosts at bay, though the odd patch of frost can’t be ruled out where clearer skies develop.”
High pressure will likely begin to break down from around mid-week onwards, turning the weather more unsettled as we get closer to Christmas Day.
The national forecaster said while there is a good deal of uncertainty in the forecast, there are some signs of colder air being dragged across the country over the Christmas weekend.
Ms Lowe said: “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 Éireann forecast.”
