Friday

There will be a dry start to Friday, with some bright spells across the country.

Overall, though, it will turn cloudy, with some scattered showers of rain moving up across the southern half of the country.

Highest temperatures will be between 6°C and 9°C, in mostly light variable breezes.

Later in the day, some showers will arrive into Atlantic counties with freshening winds.

Saturday

Saturday will be cold, but with some good winter sunshine coming through.

Scattered showers will be most frequent along northern and Atlantic coastal counties, some heavy with the chance of hail, sleet and isolated thunderstorms.

Highest temperatures of just 3°C to 6°C in moderate to fresh northwesterly winds.

Saturday night will see a continuation of showers along northern and Atlantic coasts.

It will be dry elsewhere, with frost developing under long clear spells.

Lowest temperatures will be between -1°C and 3°C.

Sunday

Sunday will be largely dry, with good sunny spells and just a few showers on northern and western coasts.

Highest temperatures will be 5°C to 8°C in mostly light to moderate west to northwest breezes.

These winds will travel south during the evening as cloudier conditions build from the west, with rain moving into the west and southwest early in the night.

That rain will spread across much of the country overnight, turning heavy in places, with some wintry falls likely.

Lowest temperatures of -3°C to 2°C, coldest in Leinster and Ulster.

Management notes

Dairy

This week, Aidan Brennan puts strong emphasis on soil sampling for the months of December and January to make better decisions around slurry and compound fertiliser.

Tillage notes

Andy Doyle says that an exceptionally dry November and reasonable growth have left the vast majority of winter crops in good condition heading into the depths of winter. For more, see here

Beef

Adam Woods takes a look at keeping under-16-month bulls on target, monitoring first-calver condition and the upcoming winter webinar on animal health.

Sheep

This week, Darren Carty discusses the importance of getting silage tested and also clears up confusion about payment rates under the Sheep Welfare Scheme.