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This coming week will be very mild at first, with mostly dry weather, apart from localised thundery showers. But a spell of wet and windy weather, due in off the Atlantic midweek, will bring an end to the recent warm spell.
There will be periods of wet weather, interspersed with brighter, more showery conditions. Temperatures will drop back to more normal values and it will be windy at times also.
Monday night
Mainly dry overnight, some clear spells but cloudy periods also. Lowest temperatures will range from 9°C to 12°C.
Tuesday
Tuesday will be a mainly dry day, with a mix of cloudy periods and sunny spells. Winds will be generally moderate and northerly, but fresh in some coastal areas. Temperatures will range from 15°C to 17°C in western and northern areas to between 18°C and 20°C elsewhere. Tuesday night will be dry but cool, with lows of 6°C to 8°C in northern and western areas and 9°C to 10°C elsewhere.
Wednesday
Wednesday will be mild and dry to start. There will be some sunshine initially too, best in the eastern half of the country. But the warm spell will end later in the day. Cloud will increase and thicken through the course of the day. Rain and strengthening southerly winds will develop along the Atlantic seaboard by early afternoon. This wet and windy weather will become widespread across the country later in the day and early Wednesday night. More showery conditions will follow from the west later in the night. Top temperatures will be in the mid to high teens, possibly 20°C or 21°C in eastern areas prior to the rain.
Thursday
It will be a bright, fresh, locally breezy day, with scattered showers and sunny spells. Highs will range from 15°C to 19°C.
End of the week and weekend
It will be changeable and fresh, with around normal temperatures for the time of year. There will be some dry bright periods at times, but showers too and some wet and windy episodes also.
Rain
The weather has been dry and hot recently but heavy thundery showers yesterday and during Thursday have brought intense rainfall locally. Rainfall amounts of over 20mm per hour have been recorded in some of the storms, with anecdotal evidence of flash flooding. The midlands, northwest Ulster and parts of Connacht have been the worst-affected areas. The east and south of the country have generally escaped the thunder activity. A few heavy showers or thunderstorms were expected on Sunday, mainly localised over south and east Leinster. The main rainfall event will occur midweek, as Atlantic frontal troughs sweep in across the country. This will signal change to unsettled cooler weather, with showers or rain at times.
Temperatures
Air temperatures will fall back to normal this week, but soil temperatures are up to 7°C above normal in some places and will remain above normal.
Sunshine
The long June days have helped sunshine figures peak out at 82 hours in the southeast of the country, 41 in the northwest for the past seven days. Clouds are expected to increase, so sunshine will ease back to average.
Drying conditions
The warm, dry weather and north to northeasterly airstream has meant excellent drying. The cooler more changeable weather with rain or showers will have a bearing on this.
Spraying
With dry weather and light winds, conditions are excellent for spraying until late Wednesday. However, heavy thundery showers must be avoided.
Field conditions
Soil moisture deficits are between 30mm and 60mm, although the effects of thundery downpours may disrupt these figures locally. This plus the effects of high temperatures is putting a serious restriction on grass growth. However, Atlantic frontal activity should resume during the latter stages of the coming week and this will bring some relief.
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