It will be a cold, bright day with only a chance of a little snow on high ground as Ireland appears to have escaped the worst of Storm Goretti.
Met Éireann’s weather warnings for snow, ice and low temperatures have expired and a UK Met Office Ice warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry expires at 11am.
Met Éireann said a cold start is expected on Friday morning with frost and icy patches being slow to clear.
Some scattered showers, mainly affecting parts of Munster, Connacht and north Ulster may be wintry with a mix of rain, hail and sleet, Met Éireann said.
It is expected to be coldest in the northeast.
The outlook is for “mixed conditions, turning milder through the weekend”, the forecaster said.
Saturday is also expected to be largely dry and bright with just a few showers, some of which could be wintry. Cloud is expected to build from the southwest later in the afternoon and evening with highest temperatures of 4 to 8 degrees generally.
Temperatures will be a bit lower in Ulster in the range of 2 to 5 degrees in light, occasionally moderate westerly or variable breezes.
Sunday is again expected to be largely dry but cloudy at first. Rain in the southwest is forecast to gradually extend across the country, reaching the northeast in the late afternoon. The rain may turn heavy in places and also may fall as sleet or snow in parts of the north during the evening, Met Éireann said.
Conditions are in stark contrast to those in Britain and continental Europe as Storm Goretti brought accumulations of snow of up to 30cm in some places, leading to the closure of some roads and the cancellation of trains and flights.
Flights across France, Belgium and the Netherlands were cancelled as roads were closed and Eurostar and other train services experienced delays and some cancellations.