Forecast issued at: Friday 09th May 2025 15:00
Rain
The past week has been very dry countrywide with little or no rainfall recorded. Looking at the week ahead, conditions will be turning more unsettled from Sunday with showery outbreaks of rain, becoming heavy at times. More settled conditions are likely to return then as the week goes on. The exact details of the showers remain uncertain and as a result, rainfall totals will be variable, though they are likely to be slightly below average for most of the country with current indications suggesting up to 20mm of rain is likely.
Temperatures
The mean air temperatures for the past week were around average in most areas for this time of year, with mean values between 8.1 and 11.6 degrees. The northeast was a bit cooler than normal, while the rest of country experienced close to average air temperatures. Looking at the week ahead, mean air temperatures are expected to be a degree or two above normal, ranging from 12 to 15 degrees. Mean soil temperatures are well above average for this time of year, ranging from 12 to 15.8 degrees. This is between 3 and 5.6 degrees above average. Soil temperatures will stay above average over the coming week.
Sunshine
Over the past week, sunshine amounts were well above average across the country. Valentia saw the most sunshine, recording 96.6 hours, which is 239% of the average amount for this time of year. The least amount of sunshine was recorded at Casement Aerodrome, Co. Dublin with 72.4 hours recorded. Sunshine amounts are likely to be above average again for the week ahead.
Drying Conditions
Drying conditions will generally be good, but will decrease to moderate or poor in showers on Sunday and the early days of next week.
Spraying
There will be good opportunities for spraying up to Saturday. Showery outbreaks of rain on Sunday and during the early days of next week will limit spraying opportunities for many areas. However, further spraying opportunities will arise from midweek next week.
Field Conditions
All soils are currently trafficable and there is some restriction to growth with soil moisture deficits (SMDs) of between 23mm and 36mm, while poorly drained soils have SMDs of between 23mm to 32mm. There will be showers, possibly heavy at times on Sunday and early next week, but generally a lot of dry weather thereafter, so SMDs will increase with continued restriction to growth in some areas.
Further Comments
A condition orange high fire risk has been issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine until 12pm on 12th of May. Arising from current weather patterns a high fire risk is deemed to exist in all areas where hazardous fuels such as dead grasses and shrub fuels such as heather and gorse exist. Forecast maps and meteograms can be found on Blight Forecast.
