Friday

Friday will begin cold and frosty with icy patches and some mist and fog also. These will clear later in the morning as cloud increases from the west.

There will be some showers in north Ulster today. This afternoon, light rain and drizzle will develop in parts of Connacht and Munster. Highest temperatures of 7°C to 11°C with light to moderate southwest breezes.

On Friday night, light rain and drizzle will affect Connacht, Munster and south Leinster. Ulster and north Leinster will be mainly dry with a fair amount of cloud and some clear intervals. Frost will develop where skies are clear.

Lowest temperatures will range from 0°C to 6°C, coldest in Leinster and Ulster.

Saturday

Saturday will be mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain and drizzle, mainly in Connacht, Munster and south Leinster, but extending further north at times.

The best of any brighter intervals will be in Ulster and north Leinster. Highest temperatures of 7°C to 9°C are expected for most areas with light breezes and reaching 12°C or 13°C in Munster.

Saturday night will be mostly cloudy. Outbreaks of rain and drizzle will continue in Connacht, Munster and Leinster and will extend into Ulster overnight. Lowest temperatures of 1°C to 6°C with perhaps a touch of frost in any clear intervals in parts of Ulster and north Leinster early in the night.

Sunday

Sunday will continue mostly cloudy with a fair amount of dry weather and some patchy light rain or drizzle at times.

More persistent rain will spread eastwards in the evening and early night. Highest temperatures will range from 7°C to 12°C with light breezes.

At this stage, next week looks set to be wet.

Management notes

Dairy

In this week’s dairy management notes, Aidan Brennan looks at the importance of body condition scoringfor breeding, a shortage of salmonella vaccine and how to avoid shoulder and back pain while milking.

Beef

Beef editor Adam Woods advises on how to stretch fodder supplies, late BDGP tags and keeping water drinkers clean.

Sheep

Livestock specialist Darren Carty focuses on how to manage grazing following rain, keeping on top of fluke and choosing the best finishing ration ingredients.

Tillage

Tillage editor Andy Doyle writes about the closing window for planting and the best ways to tackle pests such as slugs, crows, rabbits and pigeons.