Friday

Friday will be cool with showery rain in Ulster and north Connacht this morning, according to Met Éireann.

It will be brighter elsewhere with scattered heavy showers.

Dry in many places this afternoon, but there will be heavy showers in northern and northwestern counties and rain will move into southern coastal counties.

Highest temperatures of 8°C to 10°C.

Friday night will see rain in southern coastal counties and scattered showers elsewhere.

Becoming generally dry overnight, with clearing skies and light winds.

Sharp frost and some mist and fog developing with overnight lows of -1°C to 2°C.

Saturday

Saturday will be cool and bright with sunny spells and scattered showers, mainly in western areas during the morning but a bit more widespread in the afternoon.

Some showers of hail in northwestern counties. Light winds and highs of 8°C to 11°C.

Saturday night will be cold with sharp or severe frost in lows of +2°C to -2°C and patchy fog in southern counties also.

Outlook

Sunday will be cool and bright with sunny spells and some well scattered showers.

Afternoon highs of 8°C to 10°C.

Frosty Sunday night with lows of +1°C to -2°C and patchy fog also.

Monday will see rain spread eastwards during the day, with some heavy falls in places.

Afternoon highs of 8°C to 11°C.

Cold and blustery on Monday night with the rain continuing in many areas and turning to sleet in more northern counties, but drier weather with some showers will move into Munster and west Connacht overnight.

Tuesday will see showery rain in many places for a time, with some wintry falls possibly in parts of Ulster where it will be cold.

Drier periods will develop for a time during the day with some bright spells coming through at times. Cold in northern and northeastern counties with highs of 4°C or 5°C but up to 10°C to 12°C in Munster.

Management notes

Beef

Adam Woods looks at the current issues on Tullamore Farm such as fertiliser applications and feeding calved cows to maintain body condition.

Dairy

Aidan Brennan looks at dealing with fodder shortages, body condition score and managing stress.

Tillage

Andy Doyle looks at how wet land continues to slow or prevent essential crop husbandry as winter barley suffers for want of essential fertiliser.

Sheep

Darren Carty looks at how poor winter and spring grass growth rates have led to concentrates being introduced to stretch grass reserves.