Parts of the country enjoyed the driest September in 81 years, but this has been undone by deluges of rain over the past week, according to figures from Met Éireann.

The weather station at Malin Head in Donegal recorded just 23mm of rain in the 30 days of September, making it the driest September since 1933.

According to Met Éireann, there were parts of the south, southwest and west that had periods of drought between 1 and 21 September. Drought is classed as 2mm or less of rain for 15 consecutive days.

The story has been entirely different this month, with status yellow, the second highest level of warning, issued earlier this week for most counties. Between 60mm and 90mm of rain fell between Friday and Monday as the tail of Hurricane Gonzalo passed over the country.

Heavy rain

The heavy rain and storm conditions have left land in many parts of the country very soft, with housing of heavier cattle now widespread.

Farmers in counties particularly in the midlands, west and border regions continue to leave out weanlings and lighter animals, but with more rainfall forecast in these areas before the weekend, those are likely to be housed shortly.

Most areas outside the west could escape the heaviest rainfall expected for next week.

The deadline for spreading of farmyard manure is Saturday, 1 November, meaning it must be spread on or before 31 October.