The odds of a white Christmas for Ireland have almost disappeared.
There is a chance that it will be cold on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day nights and that some of the showers might be wintry but the confidence on this outcome is quite low and it would look like we are set for temperatures of 7 to 9c on the big day itself possibly dipping to 1 to 3c during the night.
As is normally the case it would appear that the North has the best chance of seeing any flake of snow falling on the big day followed by the Northwest of Ireland and then the West.
Dublins weather on Christmas day will be a max of 7 or 8c and a min of 2c. There will be a few brief showers but it should be mostly dry there.
Sligo on the other hand will see more showers and temperatures by day of 9c and a strong breeze. This will work against any possible wintriness during the night but inland areas could get hail if the wind eases and the sky clears for a couple of hours between the precipitation.
As we head into the New Year of 2013 the weather looks like it could get very mild with a temperature of 13 or even 14c a possibility. High Pressure will be situated in the same area as it was last Christmas but a week late and this will bring wind and rain to Connaught and Ulster but a lot of dry and cloudy but mild weather to Leinster and Munster.
