A snow and ice warning has been issued for several counties as Ireland braces itself for plunging temperatures.
The Status Yellow alert for Cavan, Donegal and Leitrim will come into effect at 7pm this evening and continue until 8am tomorrow.
Snow and sleet are expected to fall in the north-east of the country tonight as temperatures drop nationwide.
A weather advisory has been issued for the entire country including the South East as temperatures are expected to plummet below freezing this week.
The national forecaster Met Éireann has issue the following warning for the country for the weeks ahead.
"A transition to significantly colder conditions will take place from Monday 18th November lasting through much of the week.
"Wintry hazards including frost and ice are likely with potential for sleet, snow and hail for some."
This national weather advisory for Ireland is valid from 12:50pm Friday 15th of November to midnight on Saturday 23rd of November.
Alan O'Reilly, from Carlow Weather, says this is an early indicator of what's to come.
"Well we have seen a very mild start to the first half of November and climate change has certainly played a part in the that. The weather patterns have really kept a lot of cloud. It's been very dry aswell and that cloud meant that the night time temperatures especially were well above average.
"But we are going to see a below average now. Winter doesn't start until the 1st of December, so this is just a little early taste of Winter.
Met Éireann is warning of the possibility of poor visibility and difficult travelling conditions.
Alan O'Reilly, from Carlow Weather, is urging people to be careful.
"It really is going to be a case of taking care as it is back to our usual Winter driving conditions in terms of leaving a bit more time for your journey, allowing time to defrost the car and to watch out for icy patches.
"There is a risk of significant icy patches especially on roads in the North on Tuesday but then in many parts of the country from Tuesday and Wednesday night particularly could get down to as low as minus five degrees."
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