The cold weather is here to stay for the rest of the week and into the weekend.

It comes as a Status Yellow low temperature and ice warning has been issued for the entire country from 9pm tonight for cold and icy conditions.

A Cold Weather Advisory is also in place until Friday night for a sharp or severe frost, icy patches and dense fog at times leading to dangerous travelling conditions.

Met Éireann forecaster Gerry Murphy told Newstalk Breakfast earlier that overnight temperatures got as low as -4.7C.

"We have a cold spell across the country for this week in general as high pressure dominates the weather," he said.

"So, really it's going to be a cold week both by day and by night.

"This morning, for example, we have fog patches in places and we also have very low temperatures.

"Temperatures overnight got down to -4.7C in Co Roscommon."

⚠️Status Yellow - Low Temperature/Ice warning for Ireland⚠️

Cold with icy conditions🥶

Valid: 9pm Monday 08/01 to 10am Tuesday 09/01

Full details⬇️https://t.co/ZsjQsKCXDy pic.twitter.com/sUFAJotplB

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) January 8, 2024

Mr Murphy is urging people to take care on the roads as frost, ice and fog linger.

"That will be typical of what we can expect through the week," he said.

"So, overall daytime temperatures rising to between about 3C and 6C and the nights the temperatures dropping down well below freezing with icy patches and fog in places."

Frost and ice on a car in January 2014. Image: Rodger Tamblyn / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Murphy said the cold snap is here to stay.

"The current indications suggest it's going to continue through the week and indeed over the weekend as well as the winds become northerly," he said.

"So, really at the moment at least for the next week it does look like we're going to see this cold weather continuing.

"Currently while it is expected to be cold with frosty nights and fog at times, there isn't any drastic, extreme weather in the offing with it," he added.

The east of the country is due to see the most cloud with bright sunshine expected elsewhere.

Main image: A man scrapes ice off a car windscreen, 7-1-22. Image: LDNPix / Alamy