Latest: Status Orange snow and ice warning for 11 counties as temperatures set to fall to -8C

Latest: Status Orange snow and ice warning for 11 counties as temperatures set to fall to -8C

Update: 10.26am: Snow and ice weather warnings have been issued for most parts of the country.

The most severe is a status Orange snow and ice warning for 11 counties: Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Wicklow, Offaly, Westmeath, Galway, Roscommon and Tipperary.

Also, a yellow snow and ice warning is in place for Wexford, Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Waterford.

Both warnings are in place until late tonight.

Forecasters are expecting extremely low temperatures across the whole country from 8pm tonight with severe frost, ice and lying snow.

They say that the lowest temperatures will be -2 to -8 degrees Celsius, with the coldest in east Connacht, Leinster and Ulster.

Freezing conditions are expected to spread southwards across the afternoon.

Liz Walsh, a forecaster in Met Eireann, says there is a big variance in temperatures across the country.

She said: "There is a nine degrees recording at Sherkin Island and at a buoy in Co. Galway it is just zero degrees. In between that area there is a front lying across the country which is slowly starting to sink southwards.

"There is rain, snow and sleet in that front and as that front sinks southwards it is going to draw the cold air behind it with it and we can expect, as we go through this afternoon places that are at six or seven degrees right now will actually decrease in temperatures."

Earlier: Three weather warnings in place as Gardaí warn against unnecessary travel

An Orange weather Warning remains in place for 13 counties across the country this morning.

Met Eireann is warning of icy conditions and snow accumulations of between four and eight centimeters.