Monday

There will be a dry start but this will turn wet, particularly overnight, according to Met Éireann.

Rain will spread over the west of the country, with gales along Atlantic coasts.

Lowest temperatures will range from 5°C to 8°C.

Tuesday

Persistent rain will greet farmers on their morning rounds, but the rain is likely to clear in the afternoon with some dry spells forecast.

Unfortunately, the rain looks set to return overnight, particularly over Munster and Leinster.

Wednesday

There will be a risk of flooding on Wednesday as further rain is expected over Munster and Leinster. Drier conditions are forecast for the afternoon, with highs of between 9°C and 12°C.

Thursday

There will be some sunny spells, although there will be a risk of showers in the south of the country with temperature highs of 8°C to 11°C.

Friday and the weekend

Met Éireann is predicting that the weather will become drier and more settled as the weekend arrives and marks the end of February.

Farming forecast

Rain

Most of the country has seen above average rainfall, according to Met Éireann.

Unfortunately, this trend looks set to continue for the coming week with 1.5 to 2.4 times the average forecast for most parts of the country.

Some areas are likely to receive up to 60mm.

Field conditions

Conditions vary across the country but at this stage poorly drained soils are waterlogged while other soils are near saturation.

The news will not come as a surprise to many farmers but will dampen their hopes of getting cattle out early to grass.

However, a small improvement is expected by the end of the week.