Rain on the way as showers move in from the west

Some welcome rain is on the way this weekend, in between some sunny spells and dry periods, as showers come in across the country, according to Met Eireann.

The national meteorological office says that it will be mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain and drizzle in the east this morning (Friday, July 27).

Showers will soon develop along the west coast and spread inland, turning heavy or prolonged with the risk of thundery downpour later in the afternoon or evening.

Top temperatures will range from 17° to 21°. Winds will be mainly light to moderate southerly, occasionally fresh and in the afternoon will veer westerly in the west.

There’ll be further heavy showers overnight tonight, heaviest in the east and north later in the night. There’ll be clear spells too and drier weather will develop towards morning in the south and west.

Lowest temperatures will be 9° to 12° with light to moderate variable winds becoming westerly in direction and fresh at times.

An orange forest fire warning remains in operation. Drying conditions will be good at times but will reduce moderate to poor during rainfall events, Met Eireann says.

Spraying conditions are also expected to reduce from moderate to poor over the coming days with fairly frequent bouts of wet and windy weather.

Soil moisture deficits are currently in excess of 75mm over many parts of Leinster and Munster with drought conditions.

However, recent rainfall has reduced soil moisture deficits over Ulster and Connacht to around 30mm in the north to 70mm further south.

The expected rainfall this coming week is expected to reduce soil moisture deficits in all areas, though parts of Leinster and Munster will still have soil moisture deficits in the region of 40mm to 70mm.

As a result, Met Eireann has reiterated that a drought advisory remains in operation and will be updated by Wednesday, August 1.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Saturday, will see sunny spells and scattered showers. It is expected to feel cooler with fresh, occasionally strong, south-west winds with temperatures of just 15° to 18°.

A marked change to a more mobile Atlantic regime is forecast by Met Eireann in the coming days, with low pressure dominating conditions.

Most of the country will be dry at first tomorrow night but heavy rain or showers will move up over the country overnight – with particularly heavy falls possible in the east and south-east in the second half of the night.

Lowest temperatures will be between 9° and 13° from north to south and winds will be mainly light to moderate from a variable direction, becoming northwesterly by morning.

Outlook

Further rain is expected on Sunday morning in Ulster; but then this will clear away and it will become drier generally for a time in the afternoon, with sunshine and scattered showers throughout the day. Most frequent showers will occur in the north-west of the country.

Highest temperatures of 19° to 21° are forecast with moderate west to south-west winds.

Monday will be fair at first but showers in the west in the early part of the day will become more widespread as the day goes on.

Winds will be from the south-west, bringing temperatures typical for the time of year.