Rain will be persistent in parts of Munster and Connacht on Friday, with the odd heavy burst. However, brighter weather will develop gradually during the afternoon and evening, with sunny spells and showers, some heavy and possibly thundery also. It will be mild, with top temperatures of 17°C to 21°C. It will be humid overnight, with patches of mist, drizzle and fog in places, but some good dry periods also. Lowest temperatures of 11°C to 15°C.

Mist and fog will clear on Saturday to give way to a bright day, with a mixture of sunny spells and cloudy periods. Later in the afternoon, rain will develop in the southwest and this will become widespread across Munster and Connacht before nightfall. It will be mild, with top temperatures of 17°C to 21°C. It will become cloudy and misty overnight, with rain in most places. Lowest temperatures of 11°C to 13°C.

It will be cloudy on Sunday. However, there will be some bright or sunny spells. Some rain and showers are expected, with heavy falls possible over parts of Ulster and Leinster. It will be mild again, with temperatures reaching 17°C to 20°C.

Next week, temperatures will be back around normal (16°C to 19°C). There will be some dry, bright spells of weather, but it will be showery each day, with some heavy showers at times. It will be fresher and less humid than of late.

Management notes

In this week’s beef notes, Nathan Tuffy looks at grazing management, spraying buttercup, worm control and planting kale. A lot of silage ground has now been harvested, which will ease the pressure on grazing ground for a week.

As grass still powers ahead on most farms, Aidan Brennan says that growth has slowed considerably on some dry farms in the midlands and south in this week’s dairy notes.

Meanwhile, Kieran Mailey looks at drafting lambs, managing grass, worm control and promotion of organic lamb this week in our sheep notes.

And finally, as crops show benefit from the continued heat, Andy Doyle says in this week’s tillage notes that perhaps the greatest danger in a dry year is complacency that the good weather will continue to naturally protect your crops.