There was some destruction on farms last week as storm Doris swept across the county. The week ahead is to be calmer, but persistent rain throughout the next few days.

Frost and icy start to the week, with heavy showers of rain, hail and sleet and a risk of thunder. There is a chance of snow, particularly on high ground.

Monday will see sunny spells, the best of these in the east and northeast.

It will be cold also, with highs of just 4°C to 7°C. Winds will be mostly moderate southwest winds, but strong and gusty in the southwest.

Frost will develop in places on Monday night, with lowest temperatures of -2°C to +2°C.

Expect showery rain and sleet on Tuesday morning. Sunny spells will develop however, further showers or longer spells of rain will follow from the northwest.

It will be blustery with fresh to strong, gusty west to northwest winds. Highest temperatures of 6°C to 9°C.

It will be cold on Tuesday night, with some rain, but becoming mainly dry. Persistent rain will develop in the southwest overnight and there will be lows of -1°C to +2°C.

Wednesday will bring more rain, which will gradually spread northeastwards, falling as sleet on high ground and reaching northern areas towards evening, and continuing on Wednesday night. Highest temperatures of 5°C to 9°C with moderate southerly breezes, later increasing fresh westerly.

Rain is forecast for most areas on Thursday, with the rain becoming persistent on the south coast in the evening.

Highest temperatures of 6°C to 10°C with moderate west to southwest breezes. By night, frost will develop, mainly over the northern half of the country.

There will be further spells of rain or showers in most areas on Friday. There may be very little rain in areas in the northwest, with the heaviest of the showers in Munster and Leinster. Highest temperatures of 6°C to 9°C.

The forecast for next weekend gives similar conditions, with the low temperatures and rain continuing.

Farming forecast

Rain

Rainfall amounts have been above average over the past week, with amounts ranging from 120 to 190% generally. Storm Doris is mainly to blame for this. However, it has been somewhat drier in southernmost counties with rainfall of just 30-70% of normal in this region. Unsettled weather is forecast for the coming week, heavy rain, sleet, snow or showers at times, especially over the western half of the country and rainfall amounts between 140 and 190% of average.

Temperatures

It has been a mild winter and over the past week air temperatures were between 2 and 3 degrees above average in most areas, while soil temperatures were between 3 and 4 degrees above average. The coming week will be cooler with mean air temperatures expected to be close to or slightly below normal. Soil temperatures will begin to dip away with frost expected on some nights.

Sunshine

It has been a duller week than usual with just 30-70% of the normal amount of sunshine and the dullest conditions were experienced in the north. The wet and very changeable weather forecast for the week ahead will result in sunshine amounts generally below average.

Drying Conditions

Rain or showers on most days will mean poor drying for this week.

Spraying

Opportunities for spraying will be limited with blustery conditions dominating.

Field Conditions

Well drained soils will remain trafficable over the coming days, especially in the east. However, in general, spells of rain or showers will result in most soil types becoming saturated and trafficability will be poor.