It will be a cloudy start to the week on Monday morning, but conditions will brighten and sunny spells are expected in the afternoon and evening. Most parts of the country will experience some occasional showers throughout the day, but these will be mostly light, with the exception of some heavier showers in eastern parts of the country. Highest temperatures will range from 15°C to 19°C. Winds will be fresh and moderate in a northwesterly direction, which will ease as the day goes on.

There is a mostly dry night ahead for Monday, with the chance of some isolated showers affecting counties on the western coast. Temperatures will be in the region of 8°C to 10°C, accompanied by a light westerly breeze.

Tuesday will also be a mix of sunny spells and isolated showers, with the chance of some heavier showers in places. Overall, the day will be a lot fresher than Monday, with temperatures ranging from 14°C to 18°C, with light to moderate northwest winds.

Tuesday night will see the winds from earlier on in the day, ease, becoming lighter in a westerly direction. The night will be mostly dry with clear spells in southern and eastern parts, contrasting with some showers along the western and northern coastlines. Temperatures will range from 8°C to 9°C.

Midweek

Similar conditions are to be expected on Wednesday, with mostly dry weather and sunny conditions in most parts, along with scattered showers, which will ease in the evening time. Temperatures for the day will still be fairly low, between 15°C and 17°C, followed by a moderate northwest wind.

The windy conditions from Wednesday afternoon will ease overnight and become much lighter. Clear skies are expected with temperatures remaining at 8°C or 9°C.

Conditions are set to be mixed on Thursday, starting off cool and becoming wetter as the day goes on. Those in eastern parts of the country will have mainly dry conditions for most of the day, while the west will receive some rain in the afternoon. This rain will then move eastwards in the evening, where it will remain overnight, before turning heavy and clearing on Friday morning.

The rain from Thursday will lead to humid and warm conditions on Friday, with temperatures set to rise to the early 20s. The day will be mostly dry with sunny spells, but there is a chance of showers and sea breezes developing in the afternoon.

Farming weather

Rain

With so much showers and rain last week, rainfall counts were between 1.5 and two times the normal amount in the north and south of the country. Central parts of the country were the driest, with 50% of the normal rainfall amount for this time of year. The week ahead is set to be drier than normal, but western regions may experience above-average rainfall amounts.

Temperatures

Temperatures last week were between average and below average for this time of year. Temperatures will remain below average for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, before rising on Thursday and Friday due to humid conditions, meaning air temperatures will be between normal and above normal for the week ahead.

Sunshine

The lack of sunshine last week means sunshine levels were below normal for the majority of the country. With some sunny spells expected this week, levels are set to be between normal or just above normal.

Drying conditions

Drying conditions will be changeable for the next week, with Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday being the best for drying, but the latter half of the week not being as good.

Spraying

With wind expected throughout the week, the best days for spraying are set to be Tuesday and Wednesday,

Field conditions

Soils in southern parts are trafficable, as soil moisture levels are at 10 to 40mm; but soils in northern parts are at or near saturation. With much drier weather expected over the coming week, wet fields should dry up over the coming days, except for western counties where wet weather is expected and could lead to saturated fields.