Wind, hail, sleet, snow ... it’s going to get lively Polar airflow is bringing a big blast of winter to the nation
WE’RE used to four seasons in one day in Ireland, but get ready for four kinds of winter weather this week as the nation is hit with the ‘kitchen sink’.
Wind, hail, sleet, snow, thunder and freezing temperatures are all expected over the next four days, according to Met Éireann.
Flooding, due to 15-metre waves, is also a possibility along the Atlantic coast. ‘The weather is going to get a little lively,’ Met Éireann forecaster Liz Walsh told the Irish Daily Mail.
‘We’ve got a polar maritime airflow becoming established over the country that’s being driven by a strong jet stream coming out of North America. That’s going to produce some very strong west to north-westerly winds over Ireland through Monday [today] and Tuesday [tomorrow].’
She added: ‘There’s going to be a lot of showers with that, and it will be increasingly blustery. [Tomorrow], the showers get a little bit of thunder associated with them, so there’s a risk of pretty much the kitchen sink of every type of weather.’
Those along the western seaboard should look out for flooding. ‘We’ve got large waves off the Atlantic coast causing possible coastal flooding,’ said Ms Walsh. ‘We’re looking at a significant wave height of 15 metres, which means you could get waves that are twice that. We have thunder and lightning in the northwest of Ireland, and that will produce hail. It’s also going to be cold.’
The weather tomorrow looks set to be worse than today, with heavy showers of hail, sleet and snow possible.
However, the wind will be so strong
‘A plethora of warnings’
that Ms Walsh does not expect the snow to accumulate.
‘It’s going to be so windy that it’s going to mix the temperature a bit, and it will just keep it a bit above freezing,’ she said. ‘Of course, it will feel a lot colder in those winds.’
On foot of this weather, a ‘plethora of warnings’ will likely be put in place, according to the forecaster.
Wednesday will see a slight reprieve from the mixed conditions – before ‘an extreme weather event’ takes place on Wednesday night. ‘[On] Wednesday,
the wind will ease a little – it’s still going to be quite breezy, quite cold, still showery but not quite as showery,’ said Ms Walsh.
‘But we’re looking at a possible storm Wednesday night. This far out, we can’t be too sure, but it is looking increasingly likely that there will be some kind of extreme weather event. But most of the days we’ll be seeing some kind of extreme weather.’
By Thursday, the potential storm will have passed, but showers and wind will remain. ‘Then there’s a subtle indication that it will settle down towards the weekend, but that’s still a long way off,’ said Ms Walsh. ‘The main thing is to keep an eye on the forecast. There’s going to be a lot happening.’