A relatively dry start to the week will turn unsettled as the week progresses, with rain and wind expected over the coming days, according to Met Éireann.
Today (Monday, September 20) will be mostly cloudy with a little patchy drizzle at times, the meteorological office says.
Sunny spells developing this afternoon will be best in the south and east. Highest temperatures of 16° to 19° are forecast, in light to moderate westerly breezes.
It will be mainly dry tonight, with breaking cloud allowing mist to thicken to fog by morning, which may be dense in places.
Lowest temperatures will hold at 9° to 12° in mostly light variable or southwest breezes.
Tomorrow
Tomorrow will be mainly dry and bright to start with, but increasing cloud will bring patchy outbreaks of light rain and drizzle to the west coast later, Met Éireann says.
Highest temperatures will reach 17° to 20° tomorrow, in mostly moderate southwest breezes, which will increase fresh to strong in the northwest during the afternoon.
Again it will be mainly dry to start tomorrow night with clear spells. Outbreaks of rain will develop in the northwest later in the night, the forecaster says.
Lowest temperatures will stay at 11° or 12° in mostly moderate to fresh southwest winds.
Met Éireann outlook
Rain in the northwest will move southeastwards over the country during Wednesday, with drier and clearer conditions arriving in the northwest as the rain reaches the southeast and following on later, Met Éireann notes.
Highest temperatures of 16° to 20° are forecast, mildest ahead of the rain in the southeast.
Moderate to fresh southwesterly winds will veer westerly with the clearing rain.
It’ll be mainly dry across the country on Wednesday night with rain and drizzle arriving in the northwest again before dawn. Lowest temperatures of 9° to 11° are expected.
Thursday will be a fresher day with temperatures ranging from 15° to 17° north to south. Patchy rain across the northern half of the country will be more persistent in the northwest with drier conditions in the south, the meteorological office says.
Farming and field conditions
Drying conditions will continue mostly moderate through today and tomorrow; although patchy drizzle is expected on both days, it will be reasonably mild and winds will freshen tomorrow, Met Éireann says.
Rain is expected to move down over the country from the northwest tomorrow night and Wednesday, however, with generally poor drying conditions for the rest of the week.
There will be opportunities for spraying today and, while it will be dry tomorrow, it will be breezier also. There will be little opportunity from tomorrow evening onward, however.
Regarding field conditions, soils in parts of Connacht and Munster are saturated with some poor-drained soils waterlogged, but elsewhere soils are dry.
The driest soils are in the midlands, Leinster and Ulster, with moisture deficits ranging between 20 and 40mm.
With low pressure bringing unsettled weather over the next week, soil moisture deficits are generally expected to decrease. Soils over the western half of the country will become saturated or waterlogged.
Moisture deficits in most of Leinster will decrease to around 20 to 35mm, Met Éireann concludes.