Many farmers have taken advantage of the good weather conditions in recent weeks to make first-cut silage.

And, according to Met Eireann, these conditions look set to continue up to the mid-point of this week.

Monday

Today (Monday) will be another dry day, it says, with long spells of sunshine for most areas, but it will be a little cloudier in the far southwest.

However, easterly winds, which have seen grass growth rates slow in a number of locations, will continue to blow in a light to moderate fashion.

These winds will keep temperatures cool along eastern shores (12-15°), but highs of 16-22° are forecast elsewhere.

Moving to tonight, Met Eireann forecasts mainly fine conditions with just some scattered cloud about and light easterly breezes.

It will be a rather cold night, it says, with the possibility of grass frost in places and temperatures are set to be 2-6°.

Tuesday

Met Eireann forecasts that the east-to-west split in daytime temperatures is expected to persist into Tuesday.

Light to moderate easterly winds look set to keep temperatures cool near eastern and southern coasts, with the midlands and west receiving the best of the warm sunshine.

Temperatures are expected to reach highs of 15-18°, but this drops to just 11-14° near eastern and southern coasts.

Met Eireann also suggests that it will be rather cold again on Tuesday night and there is a risk of grass frost developing once more.

Wednesday

The dry weather looks set to continue through to Wednesday, it says, but cloud amounts will begin to increase.

In a positive move the easterly breezes look set to abate, so the temperature difference between the east and west will not be as severe as previous days.

Thursday

Met Eireann also says there is some evidence to suggest that some patchy outbreaks of rain may arrive in southern areas during Thursday.

However, uncertainty remains as to when exactly the rain will arrive and the dry spell will cease.

Outlook

As we move towards Friday, the chance of rain appears to increase.

More widespread outbreaks of rain seem likely to feed in from the south on Friday, it says, though confidence with regard to appreciable accumulations is low at this stage.

The outlook after Friday, Met Eireann says, is trending towards unsettled conditions.