Cold and blustery Friday in store for Mayo

Mayo faces a cold and breezy Friday with bright or sunny spells giving way to longer spells of rain at times.

Scattered showers will persist through the day, with some wintry outbreaks possible early in the morning before transitioning mostly to rain or hail. Isolated thunderstorms cannot be ruled out.

Highest temperatures will reach just 5 to 8 degrees, though it will feel considerably chillier in mostly moderate to fresh and gusty westerly winds, which will back to the northwest and ease later in the day.

Thursday night will bring a sharp frost in places, with temperatures falling to between 0 and 3 degrees.

Blustery showers overnight could bring a wintry mix of hail, sleet and snow, with lying snow possible on higher ground by morning.

Gales are expected near the coast.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Saturday is expected to start dry in the east with some sunshine before cloud thickens from the west as patchy rain and drizzle spreads during the afternoon.

Temperatures will recover slightly to between 7 and 10 degrees.

Sunday will again be cool and breezy with sunny spells and scattered showers, some turning wintry later in the day with a chance of hail or sleet.