The cold weather, which is expected to last at least until the middle of the week, will see temperatures everywhere plummet to sub-zero temperatures at night, and reaching only between 3°C and 5°C during the day.

"There will be widespread ground frost that will be sharp to severe in certain parts of the country, " said a Met �?ireann spokesman. "Drivers need to be aware that there are likely to be icy patches on the roads this week."

The north and north-east of the country are expected to take the brunt of the bad weather, with Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim, Louth and possibly parts of north Connaught seeing heavy snow on the ground. Most coastal areas are likely to have several sleet and snow showers, but these are not expected to last. Meanwhile, the south and west of the country will, for the most part, remain cold but dry.

"While local authorities will be issuing weather warnings, these won't be widespread and a lot of the country will simply be a lot colder with ground frost, " the spokesman said.

The cold snap marks the end of the stormy weather the country was subjected to last week.

There were severe gusts of wind yesterday, particularly in the west of the country.

A "sudden squall" occurred in Galway yesterday morning with winds reaching up to 90mph, while thunderstorms were also widespread.

During the week, the country saw winds of exceptionally high speeds. Dublin Port was closed for the first time in its history on Thursday after port officials reported wind speeds of 157 km/h.

Gusts also reached 148km/h at Dublin airport, the highest at the airport since records began in 1941, leading to the cancellation of almost 70 flights.

Winds continued last night, but these were expected to die down by this morning, making way for calmer and much colder weather, the first Ireland has seen this season.

"The weather has been exceptionally mild so far this winter, " said the spokesman. "Temperatures have been way above average, so this will be the first really cold spell that we've seen so far. People should take note of that and take greater care on the roads."