Today, Friday, looks like being a windy day with a mix of sunshine and showers. The showers will become widespread this afternoon, and a few of them will be heavy with a risk of thunder. The showers will continue through Friday night, heaviest and most prevalent in the west and north of the country with the best of any clearer, drier interludes in the east and southeast.

Saturday

Saturday will be cool and blustery with bright or sunny spells and further showers, some of them heavy. The showers will become isolated towards evening.

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Gusty moderate to fresh northwesterly winds, strong to near gale along the Atlantic Seaboard, will gradually abate by evening. Top temperatures will be 15°C to 17°C.

Saturday night looks like becoming dry countrywide for a time, with just isolated showers and clear spells at first. Cloud will increase from the Atlantic overnight and patchy rain and drizzle will develop in Atlantic coastal counties.

Lows of 9°C to 11°C in light to moderate northwest breezes at first, backing southwest and increasing moderate to fresh along the Atlantic coast by dawn.

Sunday

Sunday will begin mostly cloudy, with outbreaks of rain spreading eastwards on Sunday morning, clearing into the Irish Sea during the afternoon.

Bright spells and blustery showers will follow into the west, with the showers turning heavy and prolonged in parts of Ulster, Connacht and west Munster by evening.

Highs of 14°C to 18°C degrees (north to south) in fresh to strong and gusty southwest winds, veering westerly in the afternoon with gale gusts developing along the Atlantic coastline.

Sunday night will see strong and gusty west or southwest winds overnight with the potential for gales and large waves along the coastal fringes of the west and south. Outbreaks of rain spreading countrywide, with the heaviest falls in Atlantic coastal counties. Temperatures of 9°C to 11°C are forecast.

Management notes

Dairy

Aidan Brennan advises on milk fever, grass tetany and getting winter-ready.

Beef

Adam Woods writes about vaccinating against clostridial diseases such as blackleg.

Sheep

Darren Carty writes about breeding ewe lambs and reviewing the body condition of ewes.

Tillage

Andy Doyle advises on sowing of oilseed rape and catch crops.