Friday morning will start off cloudy, with rain in the west and southwest and patchy light rain or drizzle elsewhere.

A status yellow rainfall warning will come into force at 12pm for Munster and Connacht.

Met Éireann said that rain will move northeastwards across the rest of the country through the afternoon and evening and will be followed by scattered showers.

There will be heavy and possibly thundery downpours at times, giving a risk of spot flooding.

Light southerly winds in the morning will become variable in direction later and increase moderate to fresh in the south and east. Highest afternoon temperatures of 14°C to 19°C are forecast.

There will be clear spells and scattered showers at first on Friday night, but another spell of heavy rain will move into the southwest overnight.

Lowest temperatures of 8°C to 11°C are forecast, with moderate to fresh and variable winds.

Saturday

Saturday will be a cloudy and wet day with spells of rain and heavy showers, Met Éireann said, with some thundery.

Highest temperatures of 12°C to 16°C are forecast in a moderate to fresh south to southeast wind.

Further spells of rain and showers are likely across the country during Saturday night, with lowest temperatures of 9°C to 13°C with light to moderate south to southeast winds.

Sunday

Sunday will bring a mix of sunny spells and widespread heavy and possibly thundery showers, with highest temperatures of 13°C to 17°C forecast in a moderate to fresh south to southwest breeze.

There will be a mix of clear spells and scattered showers on Sunday night, Met Éireann said, the heaviest and most frequent of which will be in the west and northwest.

Temperatures will range between 8°C and 12°C with light to moderate south to southwest winds.

Next week

Current indications for next week suggest that it will remain unsettled, with widespread and heavy showers across the northern half of the country, but drier and brighter weather is forecast in the south.

Met Éireann has forecast highest temperatures of 13°C to 17°C, with a light to moderate southwesterly wind.

Management notes

Beef

In this week’s beef management notes, Declan Marren takes a look at grass growth, worm control and second-cut silage.

Dairy

For dairy farmers, Aidan Brennan also looks at grass growth, fly control, upcoming events for dairy farmers and has advice on aggressive bulls.

Sheep

In this week’s sheep management notes, Darren Carty looks at ram breeding decisions, store lamb presentation and replenishing nutrients in ground that has been cut for silage or hay.

Tillage

Andy Doyle takes a look at final fungicide application, oilseed rape crops and progress towards harvest.