Friday

Met Éireann forecasts that Friday will start mostly cloudy, with scattered outbreaks of rain and drizzle across the country.

Conditions will become brighter and drier throughout the day, with a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers developing. Highest temperatures will reach 13°C to 17°C, with a light southerly or variable breeze.

Lingering showers on Friday evening will die out early on Friday night, becoming mostly dry again with long clear spells. Some mist and fog will develop overnight, with temperatures falling to lows of 4°C to 7°C in light to moderate southerly winds.

Saturday

Met Éireann says Saturday will start dry with a mix of cloud and sunny spells throughout the country. However, some drizzle is likely near the south coast.

A spell of rain will spread over the western half of the country throughout the day and this will be heaviest and most persistent in the south west. The east will likely stay dry and bright until evening.

Highest daytime temperatures will reach 12°C to 16°C in moderate to fresh southerly winds.

Saturday night will be cloudy with outbreaks of rain spreading eastwards across the country, occasionally turning heavy. Rain will be persistent in southern counties.

Night time temperatures will drop to lows of 9°C to 11°C in a light to moderate southerly breeze.

Sunday

Rain will be the start to Easter Sunday, according to Met Éireann. Early showers will eventually clear east during the day.

However, this spell will be followed by widespread showers from the west, turning heavy at times in the afternoon with the chance of hail.

Highest temperatures will reach 12°C to 15°C, but these will turn cooler as the rain clears. Wind will be moderate and southwesterly.

Conditions will clear on Sunday night with largely dry spells, though scattered showers will feed into western coastal areas.

Temperatures will drop lower than the nights before with lows of 3°C to 6°C.

Management notes

Tillage

As we move into the second half of April, nitrogen becomes a priority on most crops, as does growth regulation on winter cereals, writes tillage editor Andy Doyle.

Sheep

It is coming to that stage of the year again, where farmers need to be mindful of the risk of nematodirus in lambs and watch out for tell-tale signs of infection, says sheep editor Darren Carty.

Beef

Beef editor Adam Woods takes a look at some of the costs associated with summer grazing, what to do if grass is tight and preventing tetany in suckler cows.

Dairy

Dairy editor Aidan Brennan offers some advice for farmers whose cows tend to exhibit signs of pica, or are chewing stones and other objects at this time of year.