Wet, windy and no white Christmas, says Met Éireann

While the north west coast of Ulster could experience high winds and some rain on Friday, Met Éireann said conditions were unlikely to be stormy

Ireland is likely to miss the worst of Storm Barbara with the weather system passing towards the north of Scotland.

While the north west coast of Ulster could experience high winds and some rain on Friday, Met Éireann said conditions were unlikely to be stormy.

Any dramatic weather conditions associated with the storm would be experienced only along the north west coast.

"At present it looks like the storm forming in the north Atlantic Ocean will pass north for Scotland," the Irish Met's forecaster Gerry Murphy said.

"This is the storm called Storm Barbara in Britain, which they expect to hit the islands around the north and west of Scotland."

"As it looks, it's moving in the north west. It's not going to have a big effect on this country."

However, he said the effects of the storm would still give us a wet and windy day, with weather warnings likely on the west coast.

Conditions would continue to be monitored and depending on the proximity of the storm, those warnings could be yellow or orange.

Today, meanwhile, there was likely to be light rain in the morning, which would clear by the afternoon.

Conditions have been forecast to remain cool and breezy, with temperatures reaching around 4C to 8C.

Christmas Eve was likely to be showery, but temperatures would be much milder, heading to upwards of 13C.

Anyone hoping for a white Christmas was also likely to be disappointed. Temperatures would also reach upwards of 13C on Sunday.

"There's no chance of a white Christmas with those temperatures," Mr Murphy said.

Overall the outlook to the end of the weekend was mild and blustery with sporadic showers.

Conor Faughnan, from AA Roadwatch, warned changes in driving routines over the Christmas period and bad weather were a "recipe for danger".

"We are watching the forecast and it could be downgraded, but even so, it is still going to be wet and windy at a time when tens of thousands of people are on the move travelling to see relatives all over the country," he said.

"We have to reinforce all our road safety messages which become of increased importance in bad weather when people are driving routes they don't regularly travel."

He said that AA crews would work throughout the Christmas period to deal with any breakdowns.

Irish Independent