The weather is going to change considerably this week.

The month of October has been a mild one thus far and temperatures are noticeably warmer than usual for this time of year. However, that's all about to change because there is a "cold arctic airmass" on the way and doesn't that sound like fun?! Not really. You might have noticed a chill in the air this morning, I know I did and immediately regretted my light jacket decision after rushing out the door. However, there's a couple of days to prepare because we're not about to see a real change until Thursday night as that's when the weather set to get very, very cold and bring the aforementioned arctic airmass. The current forecast from Met Éireann says:

"A cold front will approach the northwest coast early on Thursday night with rain becoming persistent in the north and west early in the night. The cold front and associated rainfall will then sweep southeastwards during the night introducing a much colder arctic airmass across the country".

Yikes. It's going to continue for a few days at least too with early indications suggesting that the bank holiday weekend is going to be a cold one. It's not just a drop in temperatures either for current predictions suggest that it will be windy and there's a risk of showers, some of which could turn thundery.

"Early indications suggest it will be cold and windy over the weekend with a mix of sunny spells and showers, some of the showers will be heavy with the risk of hail and thunder".

There's also a risk of frost from Sunday night although of course, these conditions are subject to change and it's wise to keep an eye on the Met Éireann website over the next few days.