It will be a damp and drizzly start to Monday but it will brighten up from the west as the day progresses. However, there is a risk of some light and patchy rain persisting in the northwest. Temperatures will range from 15°C to 19°C.

For Tuesday, we will see the first of the dry and largely bright days for most of the country. The day will start off rather cloudy but sun will break through and it will be dry for everyone. Temperatures will range from 15°C to 20°C.

Moving on to Wednesday and Thursday, the settled and warm conditions will continue as a ridge of Mediterranean high pressure will be over Ireland. Temperatures are forecast to hit as high as 23°C on both days.

The short spell of good weather is forecast to come to an end on Friday with a risk of rain along the Atlantic coasts. It will be cooler on Friday too with top temperatures in the high teens.

For the weekend, there is a likelihood that the weather will break and with it could bring heavy spills of rain particularly on Saturday. It is still early to tell how much, if any, rain will fall next weekend.

Farming forecast

Rain

The broken spell of weather in the week just gone resulted in rainfall volumes which were twice the norm for the time of year. The vast majority of soils needed the rain and all the rain was soaked up pretty well. Although there is a strong possibility of rain next weekend, the majority of the week will be dry with rainfall amounts expected to be well below the norm.

Temperatures

Temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday are forecast to be 3°C to 4°C ahead of the weekly norm. Conditions would appear to be ideal for spraying on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

Field conditions

The majority of fields continue to be in good condition. Some of the heavier soils could do without much rain but average soil moisture deficits are running at between 20mm to 30mm with little prospect of that changing this week.