The weather forecast for this week indicates a cold and settled start to the week followed by milder temperatures and rain towards next weekend.
According to Met Éireann, today (Monday, November 25) will bring a mix of sunshine and scattered showers, some heavy, with the slight chance of hail and a few isolated thunderstorms.
The showers will be most frequent in the north, west and south-west, but isolated further east.
Moderate to fresh and occasionally gusty south-west to west winds, strong to near gale force and gusty for a time in the north and north-west, will ease through the day as Storm Bert moves away, becoming mainly light to moderate by evening.
Highest afternoon temperatures should range from of 7° to 10°.
Showers will become mostly confined to coastal counties of the west and north tonight and will gradually become more isolated, with long clear spells developing.
Frost and some icy patches will develop as temperatures fall to between -2° to +2° in light to moderate south-west or variable breezes. A few isolated mist and fog patches will develop.
Weather towards midweek
Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be dry and sunny for most. However, there will still be some well scattered showers around, with these most likely in coastal parts of the north, west and south.
Highest temperatures will range from 5° to 9° in just light south-west to west or variable breezes.
There’s the likelihood of some showery rain on Tuesday night in the south-east and east and a few coastal showers in the north, otherwise it will be dry with frost developing in many areas.
Fog or freezing fog is likely to become fairly widespread too, dense in places. Lowest temperatures of -3° to +2° in mostly light variable breezes, becoming moderate north to north-easterly in the east and south-east.
On Wednesday, areas of mist and fog could be slow to clear through Wednesday morning and may linger all day in a few spots. There will be a little showery rain in the east in the morning and a few isolated showers near the north and north-west coast, otherwise it will be a largely dry day with some spells of sunshine.
It is expected to be a chilly day with highest temperatures of 4° to 8°, colder where fog lingers, in mostly light northerly or variable breezes.
Wednesday night will be another dry and cold night with frost and icy patches developing. Mist and fog will thicken early in the night and become fairly widespread for a time, but will start to clear later in the night, as light winds increase moderate easterly and freshen in the south-west towards morning.
Lowest temperatures will range from -3° to +1°.
Outlook for the weekend
The frost, mist and fog will clear on Thursday morning and it will be dry in most areas with some sunshine, especially further to the north and east. However, it will become mostly cloudy in the morning the south and west, with some rain and drizzle, mainly in the south-west.
Cloud will build elsewhere too through the day and it will become breezy, and while there will be some further scattered outbreaks of rain and drizzle in the south-west and south, it should hold mainly dry elsewhere.
The national forecaster has said that the highest temperatures in the north will be 5° to 12° with south-easterly winds increasing mostly fresh and gusty, stronger in some coastal parts.
It looks like Thursday night will be cloudy and breezy, and while it is expected to be dry in many areas, there will be some rain and drizzle in the south-west and likely also in western parts. Lowest temperatures of 4° to 9° in moderate to fresh and gusty south-easterly winds.
Friday will be another breezy day and while there is the chance of some sunny spells for a time, mainly in the east, it will be mostly cloudy.
There will be some rain in the south-west and west, and while there is uncertainty, this rain is likely to spread further eastwards at some stage on Friday or Friday night.
It will be milder everywhere with highest temperatures of 9° to 13° in moderate to fresh and gusty south-easterly winds, stronger in some coastal parts.
While there some uncertainty at this early stage, it looks like it will continue rather cloudy, mild and breezy on Saturday with the likelihood of some rain and drizzle at times, but good dry spells too.
There is the chance that Sunday will be drier and brighter with the winds easing, according to Met Éireann.
Farming
Field conditions – well drained soils are saturated with all moderately and poorly drained soils waterlogged, in large part due to rainfall associated with Storm Bert.
While there will be limited drying in the week ahead, lower rainfall amounts will allow soils to recover somewhat.
All well and moderately drained soils, along with most poorly drained soils will return to saturation. However, poorly drained soils in the south and west will remain waterlogged.