The weekend weather forecast indicates that temperatures are expected to cool and conditions will turn blustery.
Starting with today (Friday, September 23), Met Éireann has said that any mist or fog will clear to give a cool but mostly dry start to the day with bright spells of autumn sunshine.
While it will be mostly dry, scattered showers will move down across the country through the course of the day, some turning heavy across east and southeast counties later.
It will feel fresh with highest temperatures of 14° to 17°C in mostly moderate northwest breezes.
Tonight is expected to be largely dry and clear, outside of a few showers. It will be chilly with lowest temperatures of 3° to 7° in light northwest winds. Some mist or shallow fog patches will set in later.
Weekend weather
Well scattered showers will occur tomorrow Saturday, but for the main, it will be a dry day with sunny spells, according to the National forecaster.
It will be another fresh day with highest temperatures of 14° to 16° in a light to moderate northerly breeze.
On Saturday night, it is expected to be mostly dry with increasing cloud feeding in a few showers into northern and western coasts by morning.
Lowest temperatures will range from 3° to 8°, in just light northwest breezes, coldest across the east and southeast.
Sunday is expected to be a cloudier day with well scattered showers. It will be rather cool with highest temperatures of 13° to 16°.
It will turn breezy later in the day with moderate to fresh westerly winds developing, accompanied by spells of rain during Sunday evening or early Sunday night. Overnight lows will range from 8° to 11° with brisk west to northwest winds.
Next week
It is forecast to be rather windy on Monday with scattered blustery showers, but with some sunny intervals too though. It will feel cool with highs of 11° to 16° (north to south) in a brisk northwest wind.
It will be generally dry on Tuesday with sunny spells and moderate northwest winds. However, some rain will likely arrive into the southwest later with a few showers clipping northern coasts. Another cool day with highs of 11° to 16°.
Overall, the outlook indicates that temperatures will remain a little lower than the seasonal norm, with mixed or unsettled weather following later next week.
Weather for drying
Drying conditions will be moderate or good today (Friday). There will be a good deal of dry weather overall, but showers will spread from the northwest through the day, hindering drying somewhat.
Drying conditions will generally be good then over the weekend and for the early days of next week, though there will be occasional showers.
There will be opportunities for spraying between any showers on Friday and through the weekend. There will be further opportunities early next week after the clearance of rain early on Monday.
Field conditions
Soils are currently driest in the west of the country with soil moisture deficits (SMDs) between 15mm and 40mm generally.
Soils are wetter elsewhere with SMDs between 5mm and 15mm. With more rainfall in the week ahead, SMDs will decrease across the country.
While soils through central Munster will remain quite dry, soils elsewhere will approach saturation with poorly drained soils in the south and far southwest becoming waterlogged.