Met Eireann’s forecast temperature will drop to -2 this week when storm Bella hits Ireland

With Storm Bella set to land on the Irish shores on Stephen’s day, the next few days will experience “unstable and colder” conditions, according to Met Eireann.

There are currently two yellow wind and rain advisories for Ireland, but this is what to expect for the rest of the week.

The northwest of the county will experience wet conditions tonight as the rain develops. This will continue through the night with scattered bouts of rain and breezes spreading south across the country.

For those who want to shed some cobwebs on Christmas Day, Valentine’s Day is ready for a dry start with bright, sunny spells.

However, it will be very windy with winds from the west to the southwest, which will become very strong and gusty during the afternoon.

The night of St. Stephen’s Day is expected to see gales in the western coastal areas. Heavy rains will extend south into the afternoon and evening. Unfortunately, there is also the possibility of flooding in some places.

Moving on to the weekend and heavy rains should clear Saturday night, but the mercury will drop and conditions will turn much colder. Clear spells and scattered winter rains will spread across the country before sunrise on Sunday and some ice will form in protected areas.

Sunday will be a cold and stormy day with sparkling spells and scattered showers, some of a wintry nature.

The cold conditions will continue into Sunday night with frost and icy sections in some places. Stay warm because the lowest temperatures are expected to range between -2 and +1 degrees. The rains will also be long during the night, turning wintry in places as strong as the northwesterly winds develop.

Looking ahead to next week and Monday will be cold and windy and widespread rains are expected, possibly winter on high ground with a risk of hail. There will also be an additional wind chill factor that will come into play with strong, gusty winds from the northwest.

This cold and stormy weather will last until Monday night, though a mix of clear spells and scattered showers is also expected.

As for Tuesday, another cold and stormy day is expected to arrive with a mix of sparkling spells and rain as well, some possibly wintry with rain or hail on the way.

Tuesday night will see these rains confined to coastal areas overnight with clear frosts elsewhere and patches of frost.