It was one of the mildest Christmas Days on record with Shannon Airport reaching 12.9 degrees while everywhere was above 10 degrees. The average temperature for the time of year is 5 degrees.
St Stephen’s Day and into the new year will bring more of the same with calm, settled conditions and temperatures above normal.
Most places across Ireland will see temperatures of between 10 and 12 degrees on St Stephen’s Day – perfect for festive walks. However, Met Éireann said it would be mostly cloudy across Ireland, with patches of rain and drizzle.
Heavy fog in south Dublin threatened to curtail Thursday’s race meeting at Leopardstown but events were allowed to continue after a course inspection.
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Friday and into the weekend will have similar conditions, although Saturday will see some rain in western parts. The mild weather will continue until New Year’s Eve and then it will turn dramatically colder, according to Met Éireann forecaster Michelle Dillon.
“Monday will be a windy day with rain in the north and rain in the northwest. That will rain will move down the country,” she said.
“New Year’s Eve day will not be too cold, but the winds will swing around to the north and will gradually turn much colder. By New Year’s Day you will have maximum temperatures of just 1 to 4 degrees and the same for the following day.
“Temperatures will be dropping at night. By New Year’s Eve night we can see temperatures of between zero and minus three.
“There will be some precipitation especially in coastal parts so you might see frost, ice and some wintry showers, but the details will change closer to the time.”
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