Friday

Frost and ice on Friday morning will clear for a cold and dry day with sunny spells in most areas, according to Met Éireann.

However, cloud will increase in the west and northwest during the day and may bring patches of drizzle.

Temperatures will be milder, with highs of 7°C to 10°C and mostly light to moderate breezes.

Cloud and patchy drizzle in the west will gradually extend to other areas on Friday night. Lowest temperatures will range from 4°C to 8°C, with moderate to fresh southerly winds developing.

Saturday

Met Éireann forecasts that Saturday will be mostly cloudy and breezy, with patchy drizzle in southern and western areas.

Highest temperatures will reach 8°C to 10°C, with fresh to strong and gusty southerly winds developing throughout the day.

On Saturday night, rain will move eastwards across the country. However, this will be followed by clear spells and some scattered showers.

As the rain clears, fresh to strong and gusty southerly winds will ease to being light to moderate and veer westerly. Temperatures will fall to lows of 3°C to 7°C, coldest in the west later in the night.

Sunday

Rain over Saturday night will clear from the northeast and east on Sunday morning, leaving dry and bright weather conditions in most areas, says Met Éireann.

However, cloud will again build in from the west during the afternoon and evening.

Highest temperatures will reach 8°C to 11°C, with light to moderate westerly winds gradually becoming southerly and increasing in the evening.

Wet and windy outbreaks of rain will move eastwards across the country on Sunday night. These will be accompanied by fresh to strong southerly winds. Lowest temperatures will fall to 4°C to 8°C.

Management notes

Tillage

Land is now wet, so it may be best to keep fertiliser in the bag for a while longer, writes tillage editor Andy Doyle.

Sheep

Sheep and schemes editor Darren Carty writes about the Teagasc national hill sheep conference which took place on Thursday and explores the effect of breed on the performance of hill sheep.

Beef

Beef editor Adam Woods outlines how weighing animals on a beef farm can be a useful tool in making decisions, weather and fertiliser use.

Dairy

In the dairy notes, dairy editor Aidan Brennan takes a look at the steps farmers can take to maintain calf health during this period of changeable weather.

Read more

Coping with a rapid deterioration in ground conditions