The island is bracing itself for a period of cold weather in the first few days of 2026.

Wintry showers will reach higher ground on Friday (January 2) with highs of only 6C.

That cold weather is set to continue into next week with temperatures struggling to rise above 4C. While hardly Arctic conditions, for context, temperatures were reaching 13C earlier in December.

There will be further snow and hail on Saturday which could reach lower ground, particularly in the west, with highs of 5C.

Forecaster Colin Gartshore said: ‘There will certainly be some snow on the hills on Friday and a risk of snow showers into the weekend.

‘Next week it starts off cold but we can’t say what will happen much beyond Tuesday. It will be chilly with some snow and hail but we are not looking at anything record-breaking.’