According to Met Éireann, April was the driest for some areas since records began, and this has continued into the first days of May.

For the coming week, the dry weather will stay with us, but there will be a change coming from the end of the week.

Monday will be another dry day with plenty of sunshine and just small amount of patchy cloud in places. Temperatures will range from 16°C to 20°C with the warmest conditions in the west away from eastern as well as southern coasts.

Tuesday will be another dry and bright day, with the best of the temperatures in the west. Temperatures in the west will range from 15°C to 18°C but in the east they will range from 11°C to 14°C.

It will be dry again on Wednesday but cloud amounts will build. There will be less of an east-west split in terms of temperatures with the lack of an easterly breeze. Wednesday will see top temperatures of 15°C.

By Thursday, conditions will be starting to deteriorate. However, any amounts of rain, which are likely to be small, will be confined to the south of the country. Met Éireann describes the forecasted rain as “patchy”.

For Friday and into the weekend, there will be more widespread rain which will spread in from the south. The outlook after Friday is a return to more unsettled conditions.

If you are heading to the Balmoral Show on either Friday or Saturday, pack a brolly.

Farming forecast

Rainfall

The week just gone was almost entirely dry for everyone, with little or no rainfall recorded. For the coming week, there is a change in the weather, with some rain forecast. However, volumes are expected to be rather small at 0mm to 30mm.

Temperatures

A split between the east and the west in terms of temperatures will continue for the first few days as a result of an easterly wind. Top temperatures will range from 16°C to 20°C, with Monday being the warmest day.

Field and spraying conditions

Despite some rain forecast from the end of the week, land is very dry with soil moisture deficits of around 35mm to 50mm. At this level, grass growth in some areas is being restricted.

Conditions for spraying will be perfect up to at least Thursday evening so those getting their wild bird cover sorted before the end of May deadline still have time to get their spraying done.