There will be a slight lift in the weather this weekend, compared to the heavy rain last weekend which kept cattle indoors or brought them back in.

This weekend looks set to be drier than last weekend but there will still be some scattered showers for farmers to contend with and temperatures will remain low.

Saturday will be cold and bright. There will be some sunny spells, but further showers also. Many of the showers will be heavy and some of will fall as hail, with sleet on hills. A few thundery downpours can be expected also. Top temperatures just 5°C to 8°C in moderate southwest or variable breezes.

The night will see a widespread hard frost and some icy roads with some patches of mist and fog also. Lowest temperatures of 0° to -3°C.

Although Sunday will be cold it will start off mainly dry. However, the latest data coming into Met Éireann suggests that a spell of wet and windy weather will develop over Munster and parts of Leinster by early afternoon. This will then push up on through the rest of these provinces and into Connacht. Northern areas may hold dry. It will be cold, with highest values of 5°C to 9°C in strengthening easterly winds.

Management notes

Tillage editor Andy Doyle gives advice on how to manage planting during this spell of broken weather.

Dairy specialist Aidan Brennan says that dairy farmers should check in with eachother during this difficult period. He also gives advice on how to stop bulling cows from poaching when the land is wet.

Sheep specialist Darren Carty writes that with the weather not looking favourable for the next few days, farmers should keep an eye on the wind direction forecast and, where possible, ensure that ewes have access to shelter from the prevailing wind. He also gives advice on ewe and lamb supplementation rates.

Finally our beef specialist Nathan Tuffy gives some key tips for farmers who have re-housed cows and calves in the past week.