Yikes.

We’ve made it to the end of another year, and by now we know much better than to expect much reprieve from December weather.

There’s no white Christmas on the way just yet according to Met Éireann’s latest regional forecast for Munster, but the next few days will certainly tick the boxes of ‘painful’, ‘cold’ and ‘bitter.’

After a day of patchy rain and drizzle, at times persistent, Friday night will be wet and cold, with temperatures as low as one degree. Sadly, this is a sign of things to come.

Saturday will be cold and blustery with “frequent showers” with temperatures between four and six degrees during the day, dropping down to zero at night. There is also the threat of hail, sleet and thunderstorms.

Things will dry up a little bit after that, with Sunday promising a dry, bright but ultimately still very cold day. Things will take a turn as the day goes on however: “Cloud will thicken from the Atlantic early on Sunday night, with rain moving into the west and southwest.

“The rain will spread across the country overnight, turning to sleet at times over higher ground in the north. Lowest temperatures of -2 to +3 degrees will occur late in the evening or early in the night.”

Oddly enough, Monday seems as though it could be a sunny day, though Met Éireann continue to advise of the possibility of hail. Another zero degree night also seems certain.