A new dawn. A new day. A new year. A new decade. How about the weather, then?

With just a couple of days left until both 2019 and the 2010s are consigned to the history books, it is time to look forward to the future. In truth, it is difficult to know what the new decade will bring. If you dwell on it too long, things become quite existential indeed. Weather is a much more tangible thing, so we'll focus on that, yes? We'll start with New Year's Eve, which takes place on Tuesday 31 December, don't you know. Met Éireann says that the final day of 2019 will be largely dry, save for a few showers in southern counties. The best of the sunshine, meanwhile, will be found in the north. Maximum temperatures will range from six to 10 degrees, with minimum temperatures of one to five forecast. New Year's Day should be another mostly dry affair but you'll be getting plenty of clouds as part of the bargain. Maximum temperatures of 7 to 11 degrees doesn't sound so bad, though, does it? A fairly windy night is predicted, increasing to gale force status on coasts by Thursday morning. Before that, it should be a dry night for most of the country, though patchy rain and drizzle may make their presence felt in western and southern coastal counties in the early hours. Minimum temperatures of five to eight degrees. Moving into Thursday (2 January) and the Met Éireann forecast indicates a "very windy but mild start" to the day. Rain is expected to become persistent near Atlantic coasts, spreading to most parts during the daytime before cooler, showery conditions take hold. Look forward to maximum temperatures of 10 to 12 degrees in the morning before they lower to between seven and nine degrees in the afternoon. Thursday night looks like a blend of clear spells and scattered showers with minimum temperatures of three to six degrees. There's no hiding from the new year by the time Friday (3 January) arrives and the early outlook contains appealing words like 'dry' and 'bright' so let's commit to this thing. The forecast illustrates a mixture of cloud (boo) and sunny (yay) spells with showers isolated to the west and north. Temperatures will hit seasonal norms of seven to 10 degrees as light and moderate southwest breezes emerge. As for the first weekend of 2020, "predominantly dry conditions" makes for a decent enough early tease.