Met Éireann is forecasting mixed weather conditions for the National Ploughing Championships in Co. Offaly this week.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on Screggan, Tullamore for the three-day event which kicks off tomorrow (Tuesday, September 16).

In its latest weather forecast, Met Éireann said today will be windy with widespread showers or longer spells of rain.

There will be some heavy falls with a chance of thunder in the north and northwest of the country where spot flooding may occur.

The showers and rain will gradually die out later and be followed by brighter conditions and isolated showers. The rain will continue over Ulster.

Highest daytime temperatures of 13° to 16°C in fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds which will ease later in the day.

A Status Yellow rainfall warning for counties Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo will be in place until 5:00p.m today.

The heavy shower or longer spells of rain will bring a risk of difficult travelling conditions, poor visibility and localised flooding.

Tonight will be mainly dry with isolated showers in the west. Widespread showers are expected to persist in Ulster overnight, easing by morning.

Lowest temperatures of 8° to 12° in moderate to fresh westerly winds, easing mostly light overnight.

Tuesday will be dry and bright to start in most areas with some isolated showers.

Cloud will thicken from the south-west during the morning with rain spreading north-eastwards in the afternoon and evening. There will be some heavy falls, particularly in the south-west.

Highest temperatures of 14° to 17° in light to moderate southerly breezes, strengthening in the evening.

There will be widespread rain on Tuesday night which will gradually clear to the north-east, followed by isolated showers from the west.

Overnight lows of 10° to 13° in moderate to fresh south-easterly winds veering south-westerly.

Wednesday will be a dry and blustery day with isolated showers and some sunny spells. There may be more frequent showers on the south coast in the morning.

Highest temperatures of 16° to 19° in fresh to strong south-west winds, reaching gale force along west and north-west coasts.

It will be mainly dry on Wednesday night with cloud building in the south bringing rain. The northern half of the country will stay mostly dry with clear spells and isolated showers.

Lowest temperatures of 9° to 12° in light to moderate southerly winds.

On Thursday, there will be rain in the south for much of the day with drier and brighter conditions in the north.

Highest afternoon temperatures of 15° to 17° degrees with light south-westerly or variable breezes.

Friday is expected to be a bright day with some showery rain at times.

The current outlook shows that unsettled weather is expected to continue into the weekend with further showers and outbreaks of rain.

Met Éireann said that rainfall amounts over the coming week are expected to be above normal nationwide, with the highest accumulations in the north-west and south-east.

Mean air temperatures are forecast to be similar to last week, ranging between 12° and 14°.

Soil temperatures are currently near or above normal, ranging between 13.4° and 15.5° which is unlikely to change much this week.

Drying conditions will be generally poor over the coming seven days, while spraying opportunities will be limited.

Met Éireann said that soils in Leinster and east Munster are currently the driest with soil moisture deficits of 14 to 38mm.

Soil conditions in these areas will deteriorate during the next seven days, becoming saturated or waterlogged.

Soils in other areas are generally saturated or waterlogged and well-drained and moderately-drained soils will improve slightly during the coming week

Weather conditions conducive to the spread of potato blight will persist in parts of Ulster, north Connacht and north Leinster until Tuesday morning.