A dry and increasingly bright spell of weather lies ahead over the coming week.

Some light night frosts are expected away from eastern areas, where daytime temperatures will reach 7–8°C, with cooler conditions further west.

Models suggest Ireland has two potential windows for more wintry weather: from December 30th onward, or from January 4th onward.

GFS guidance indicates that a New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day wintry spell is unlikely, with the probability increasing instead from around January 4th.

Overall, the high pressure developing over Ireland is not retrogressing sufficiently to allow colder continental air to push westward. In fact, the pattern is somewhat paradoxical: the blocking is too strong and poorly positioned, limiting Ireland’s ability to tap into any sustained cold air.