Friday

Friday morning will start off cloudy, with patchy rain, mostly in the east, Met Éireann has said.

These light showers will clear eastwards and the day will become drier, with some sunny spells developing.

Moderate westerly winds will introduce cooler afternoon temperatures than previous days, with temperature highs ranging from 15°C to 19°C, possibly reaching 20°C in the southeast.

The night will be mostly dry and less humid than over the week, with cloud cover increasing from the west towards Saturday morning. Lowest nighttime temperatures will be between 7°C and 10°C.

Saturday

Saturday will start cloudy in the northern half of the country, with sunny spells further south. More widespread sunny spells will develop through the middle of the day.

It should warm up over the afternoon, with highest temperatures of 19°C to 23°C. It may remain little cooler along the coast to the northwest, where cloud covers may stay for some time.

Winds will be mainly light and southerly, although direction may vary.

Sunday

Cloud and patchy showers of drizzle will increase across much of the north and west of the country on Sunday.

The south and southeast will see drier, sunnier conditions.

Highest temperatures will be felt in the south and southeast, ranging from 20°C to 24°C,

It will feel cooler elsewhere, with highest temperatures unlikely to exceed 16°C to 19°C in the north, west and midlands.

Light to moderate westerly winds will freshen in the western regions later in the day.

Management notes

Dairy

This week, Aidan Brennan talks about dealing with surplus grass covers, over-sowing clover into grass swards and tackling the issue of mastitis on dairy farms.

Beef

Maintaining grass quality with the explosion of growth on beef farms, managing bloat in stock at grass, slurry safety over the silage season and stock bull health are all covered by Adam Woods.

Sheep

Darren Carty writes about slowing down the emergence of anthelmintic resistance when dosing, the importance of carefully batching lambs for sale and this week’s grass growth rates on sheep farms across the country.

Tillage

The recent catch-up in crop growth stages, the progression of flowering, final fungicide application for spring cereals and deterring crows from standing crops are all covered this week by Andy Doyle.