Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey also said that Northern Ireland has experienced an uncommonly rainy January, and there is no immediate sign of things drying up, with more unsettled weather forecast for coming weeks.

Mr Vautrey said, “It’s obviously been a grey, dull and damp start through today, but the rain is now clearing off and increasingly, as we head throughout the afternoon and into the evening, skies are going to be clearing.

“Where we see those clear skies persisting overnight, we’re going to see the temperatures dropping, so it’s certainly likely to be seeing some frost in areas of Northern Ireland, some freezing fog patches as well. Those temperatures potentially drop locally as low as minus four degrees celsius in places.

“Because we’ve had all that rain coming through today, there’s a lot of moisture there. So when temperatures do drop sub freezing, then that brings the risk of those icy stretches forming on untreated surfaces.

“That warning is valid from 7pm today until 9am tomorrow, so it’s just something to be aware of as you are heading into work tomorrow morning, in case any of those icy patches are still lingering around.”

Ballymena farmer rescues flock of sheep from flood water

As for the week ahead, Mr Vautry said things are looking “fairly unsettled”.

While Northern Ireland will be “a little bit more sheltered” than other parts of the UK to new weather, “there’ll still be a fair amount of cloud building”.

NI may avoid some of the “persistent areas of rain” that will hit other areas, but “the cloud certainly will be thick enough in places to produce the odd spot of patchy rain and drizzle”.

One advantage of the “increasing cloud” building from Monday night onwards is a reduced chance of frost, with tonight and Monday morning being the main frost risk.

Stock image.

“Winds have been reasonably light as of late, but I think certainly from Tuesday onwards, that wind strength is going to pick up. It will turn noticeably gustier around coastal regions and the mountains in particular.

“It will also probably start to feel that little but colder as well, temperatures taking a little bit of a dip down.”

The coldest day is likely to be Tuesday, with highs of around five or six degrees, with things picking back up towards seven degrees on Thursday and Friday.

Anyone feeling that January was particularly damp was onto something, as Mr Vautrey confirmed Northern Ireland was “very wet compared to average” last month.

He added that the “unfortunate news is that this general unsettled theme across the UK is looking to continue into the first half of February.

“There are likely to be further spells or rains” as we push into this month, and there are currently “no major long-term trends for exactly when things may begin to shift.

“Keep the umbrellas on hand is the best advice at this stage.”