After heavy winds throughout the country today and tonight, conditions will calm over the weekend – but showery spells will persist nationwide, according to Met Eireann.
Today will be very windy all across Ireland, with stormy conditions for a time in western and northern counties. This is as a result of Storm Erik making its way across the country.
This has resulted in Met Eireann issuing a Status Orange weather warning for three counties – Galway, Mayo and Donegal.
The warning has been in place for Galway and Mayo since 5:00am, and 9:00am for Donegal; the warning will lift at 1:00pm today for the Connacht counties, while the Donegal warning remains in place until 6:00am tomorrow morning (Saturday, Febraury 9).
Highest temperatures today will range between 7° and 10°, according to Met Eireann.
Tonight will continue to be very windy, with showers becoming widespread, again with longer spells of rain in the north; minimum temperatures will range from between 4° and 7°.
Tomorrow, Saturday, will see an improvement in terms of the wind, with moderately to fresh westerly breezes, and highest temperatures of 5° to 9°.
Saturday night will be mostly dry, but with frost forming fairly widely; however, the chances of rain will be greater in the south.
Lowest temperatures will range between 0° and 3° on Saturday night.
The rain in the south should clear on Sunday, leaving a chilly day with sunny spells and just a few showers; those showers will become more frequent in Ulster later in the day, with some hail and thunder.
Looking at the week ahead, it will be generally milder, with temperatures hitting highs of between 9° and 12°, with those figures holding strong for Wednesday; however, breezy and showery conditions will persist.
Drying conditions
According to Met Eireann’s farming forecast, issued yesterday (Thursday, February 7), drying conditions over the next couple of days will be generally poor, as the rain is replaced by scattered showers.
However, conditions should be more advantageous in the early part of next week, as the weather becomes calmer and drier.
The same is true for spraying opportunities; limited over the next 48 hours or so, but improving in the early part of next week.
Looking at field conditions, Met Eireann says that nearly all soils are saturated at the moment, with some soils being waterlogged; some moderately-drained soils might also experience waterlogging over the coming days.