Forecast issued at: Monday 13th January 2025 13:00
Rain
Over the past seven days, rainfall amounts have been well below average over Ireland with less than 10 mm of rain (less than 30% of average) recorded for much of Ulster, Leinster and Munster. Amounts ranged from 12 to 30 mm (55 to 135 %) in south Munster and from 20 to 33 mm (60 to 111 %) in the southwest, west and northwest. Over the coming week, high pressure will dominate the weather over Ireland. There will be less than 10 mm of rain (less than 15 %) for most areas, and between 10 and 20 mm (20 to 50 %) along the west coast.
Temperatures
It has been much colder than average over the past week with mean air temperatures generally ranging from 0.6 degrees in Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan and 5.3 degrees at Valentia Observatory in Cahirsiveen, Co. Kerry. This is between 2.0 and 4.5 degrees below normal values. Mean soil temperatures were below average and ranged from 1.7 in Dublin Airport to 4.9 degrees in the southwest, which is between 0.9 and 2.5 degrees below average. The coming week will be mild with Temperatures well above average each day. Mean air temperatures are forecast to be 3 or 4 degrees above average for mid-January and mean soil temperatures will recover to average or above average.
Sunshine
Sunshine amounts over the past week ranged from 7.4 hours at Shannon Airport, Co. Clare (67 % of its average) to 19.5 hours at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford (160 % of its average). Elsewhere amounts varied and ranged from about 9 to 16 hours of sunshine (90 to 130% of average). For the coming week, it will be mainly cloudy on most days. So sunshine amounts are expected to be below normal across.
Drying Conditions
Despite the increasing temperatures, drying conditions will often be poor with plenty of dull and humid weather. However, better conditions are expected for Wednesday and possibly Thursday with some sunny spells and mostly dry conditions.
Spraying
The best spraying opportunities will likely be Wednesday with largely dry conditions and no more than moderate winds away from Atlantic coasts.
Field Conditions
Most soils across Ireland are either saturated or waterlogged. There will be some marginal improvements over the coming days as it will be mainly dry.
Forecast maps and meteograms can be found on Blight Forecast.
