The warnings come into effect on Wednesday.

Two Status Yellow weather warnings have been issued for nine counties on Wednesday (9 February). The first of the warnings to come into effect is a snow and ice alert issued by Met Éireann for Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. Warning of "wintry showers and icy conditions", it will be valid from 5pm on Wednesday to 11am on Thursday. The second is an ice warning put out by the UK Met Office for Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone. Stating that wintry showers will bring a risk of ice on Wednesday night, it will be in effect from 6pm on Wednesday to 10am on Thursday. In a Twitter post, Met Éireann urged people to take care on roads as icy patches could lead to tricky driving conditions. https://twitter.com/MetEireann/status/1491376073669550083 The warnings come as temperatures are set to plummet in some areas to as low as -4 degrees on Thursday. Speaking to JOE, Met Éireann meteorologist Mark Bowe said Thursday night is "definitely going to be noticeably colder". "Basically on Thursday, a ridge is going to start moving over the country," Bowe explained. "There'll be plenty of clear skies in the evening, especially in the south and east. So, the coldest temperatures for Thursday night are actually going to be in the south and the east." Bowe said it is believed temperatures will generally be around -1 to -3 degrees across the entire county on Thursday night but that temperatures will fall to -3 or -4 in exposed and higher terrain in the south-east. The meteorologist had the following advice for the public ahead of Thursday: "When temperatures go down below freezing, obviously frosty nights are always a possibility. "So especially on Thursday evening, there's definitely going to be some icy stretches. "Obviously, do take care on the roads out there. "Travel will be especially tricky overnight with those very low temperatures."