A Status Yellow rain warning is in place for Cork and Kerry, with Met Éireann warning of possible hazardous travelling conditions.
The forecaster said persistent rain could also lead to some localised flooding.
The warning will be in effect until 6am tomorrow.
Met Éireann has said that a cold spell is set to follow over the coming days but that snowfall is unlikely.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Deputy Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann Liz Coleman said that there could be a dampener on New Year’s Eve celebrations tonight, particularly in the south of the country.
“We have a rainfall warning in place for counties Kerry and Cork, and that’s valid until 6am. That’s for the persistent amount of rain that they’re getting. It’s raining there at the moment and its going to continue raining until tomorrow morning,” she said.
“If people are going out and about, I would suggest that they bring their rain jackets, umbrellas might not be the best thing to have because it might be windy. Wet in the southern half (of the country) but it will be drier further north for the celebrations,” she added.
“It’ll be those crisp, cool days where we’ll have frost at nighttime, and daytime temperatures struggling to get above one or two degrees… quite a change from what we’re expecting throughout the day today,” she said.
“There will be a few showers which may turn wintry, but nothing in terms of accumulations. Maybe a better chance of getting some snow at the weekend than there are through Thursday and Friday, but that’s quite uncertain at the moment,” Ms Coleman added.
