Met Éireann has today (Thursday, May 4) issued a Status Yellow warning for potato blight for the entire country.
The national forecaster has stated that from Friday morning (May 5) until Monday (May 8), the weather conditions will be conducive to the spread of blight on early sown crops.
This will affect many coastal regions in the south and east, the risk is marginal in parts of the midlands and midwest.
Blight
Met Éireann said that there will be opportunities for spraying today over the northern half of the country through the early afternoon.
There will be further limited opportunities for spraying during the morning hours of Friday and Saturday.
The forecaster has said that the blight advisory is currently set to remain in place until midnight on Tuesday, May 9.
Phytophthora Infestans, the airborne fungus which causes blight, thrives in very high humidity.
According to Teagasc, around €5 million is spent by potato growers on fungicides annually in Ireland to mitigate the impacts of blight.
Met Éireann
The weather forecast for today shows that rain in Munster will push northwards during this afternoon and evening.
The rain could be heavy in places, leading to a risk of spot flooding. Some northern areas will stay dry until tonight. Highest temperatures will range from 11° to 15° in moderate to fresh easterly breezes.
The rain will continue overnight, winds will ease and temperatures will fall back to 7° to 11°.
The rain will clear to leave sunny spells and showers on Friday, some of the showers could be heavy in the afternoon. Daytime temperatures will be 14° to 18° and winds will stay light.