Outbreaks of rain will spread across the country tonight with breezy conditions. Patches of fog and grass frost will also develop early tonight in the midlands, east and north.

Saturday morning is set to be windy with further rain for most areas. However, there will be dry periods in parts of the east and north. Early in the night will be cool and showers will clear.

It will be cold and windy on Saturday night, with scattered showers and possibly wintery conditions on high ground. Lows of 0 to 4 degrees, with a risk of icy patches on sheltered roads.

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Similar wet conditions for Sunday as an Atlantic depression is indicated to bring strong to gale force winds, which will be particularly strong in exposed, coastal areas.

Rain will be persistent and heavy and will be widespread across the country during the afternoon and evening.

The winds will possibly increase to gale force along southern coasts late on Sunday night, with scattered outbreaks of rain in the west, becoming widespread around dawn. Lowest temperatures of 3 to 5 degrees.

Next week

The wet and windy weather is likely to continue due to a large area of low pressure, which will lead to further bands of rain or showers along with strong westerly winds over the country. Afternoon temperatures look likely to be normal for this time of the year at around 6 or 8 degrees. There will be a risk of frost and icy patches in sheltered, inland parts of the country.

For the rest of the week, winds are likely to ease but rain will continue to affect coastal fringes of the west. Elsewhere, it will become drier, but becoming colder with widespread frost and ice on untreated surfaces on Wednesday night.

Management

In this week’s dairy management notes, Aidan Brennan talks about the benefit of getting freshly calved cows out to graze.

Darren Carty gives tips on administrating a clostridial disease vaccine and some help for farmers at lambing time.

For tillage, Andy Doyle explains why this may not be the year to delay nitrogen application, despite the fact crops may appear quite advanced.

Nathan Tuffy gives his advice on measuring grass and the importance of budgeting when buying calves.