A Status Yellow snow and ice warning has been issued in Northern Ireland.
The warning is in place for counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry, from midnight until 10:00a.m on Friday (January 2).
The UK Met Office said that travel disruption from icy stretches can be expected during this period.
Forecast
In its forecast, Met Éireann has said that today, New Year’s Eve, will be generally dry apart from the chance of a little drizzle near the south coast and with some showers moving into northern coastal parts this afternoon and evening.
Tonight will be quite cloudy at first, with outbreaks of rain and drizzle in the north gradually sinking southwards through the night and becoming patchier by morning.
It will be cold with lowest temperatures of -2° to 2° with frost and icy stretches developing.
Cloud and any patchy light rain in Munster and south Leinster will clear southwards early tomorrow morning, leaving a largely dry New Year’s Day.
It will turn colder for the weekend with sharp to severe frosts developing and some wintry showers mainly affecting the north and north west.
Farming commentary
In its latest farming commentary, Met Éireann said the past week has been dry with rainfall amounts well below normal across the country.
It said that high pressure will continue to dominate for much of the coming week, bringing largely dry conditions for a time, though there will be some rain, drizzle and showers, which will turn wintry at times, especially further north.
Precipitation amounts will be low generally, but a little higher in some northern parts later in the week.
Mean air temperatures were generally near or below normal over the past week, though they were higher than normal in parts of the east.
The coming week will turn even colder with some frosty nights.
Mean soil temperatures over the past seven days ranged between 3.7° and 6.6°C and are expected to decrease over the coming week.
Little rainfall is forecast over the coming days but it will be often overcast and cold, so drying conditions will remain fairly poor overall.
Met Éireann said there will be good spraying opportunities over the coming days with mainly dry conditions and light to moderate winds expected.
Field conditions have improved in recent days with trafficability beginning to be possible in well and moderately-drained soils.
Poorly-drained soils remain saturated or waterlogged.
A slight deterioration is expected over the coming days with slightly more precipitation forecast, mainly in northern and north-western parts, Met Éireann said.
