Met Éireann has today (Monday, August 10) issued an advisory for potato blight in parts of the country.

The national forecaster said that weather conditions conducive to the spread of potato blight will occur from Tuesday afternoon (August 11) to Thursday night (August 13) in southern and Atlantic coastal counties.

Potato blight is a plant disease caused by a fungal-like organism called Phytophthora infestans.

The pathogen spreads rapidly in humid weather in the foliage of potatoes and tomatoes, causing the foliage to decay and the potato/tomato to be infected.

Met Éireann said there will be opportunities for spraying over the coming days, especially today, on Tuesday away from Atlantic areas and on Wednesday in parts of the south and east.

Further opportunities are likely later in the week.

Met Éireann

The weather forecast shows there will be warm or hot and humid conditions this week with sunny spells. Some showers or rain is likely in parts too.

Met Éireann said that over the coming days, there will be showery outbreaks of rain, which will be heavy at times.

Overall, rainfall amounts will likely range between 10 and 30mm but higher totals are possible in southern parts.

Temperatures will increase for midweek, and may reach highs of 29°C in parts, before decreasing through Friday and the weekend.

Overall, mean air temperatures will generally range between 15° and 18° which is 1° or 2° warmer than average.

Mean soil temperatures will also continue above average.

Soil moisture deficits are mostly ranging between 25 and 95mm, driest in south and east Leinster. However, some soils in the northwest are saturated.

Over the coming week, values will decrease by approximately 15 to 20mm in parts of the south and east and 10 to 15mm in the north and west.