Forecast issued at: Saturday 15th March 2025 12:00
Rain
Over the last seven days, rainfall amounts were well below normal nationwide. The highest accumulation of 6.2mm was at Cork Airport, which is 28% of average. It was driest at Ballyhaise in Co. Cavan, where only 0.5mm was recorded. With high pressure remaining in charge for the coming days, there will be low amounts of rainfall until Friday. On Friday and Saturday a change to unsettled weather is possible, bringing above average amounts of rainfall to parts of the country.
Temperatures
Over the past week, air temperatures were near or above average, with mean values ranging from 6 to 9.3 degrees. Soil temperatures were generally 2 or 3 degrees above normal. There will be a cool start to this week, but temperatures will climb later in the week, so averaged over the next seven days air temperatures will be normal.
Sunshine
The past week was rather sunny and sunshine amounts were above normal nationwide. The lengthiest sunshine was at Malin Head (42.1 hours) which is nearly twice the norm. With high pressure dominating for most of this week, sunshine amounts are likely to be near or above normal.
Drying Conditions
Drying conditions will initially be moderate because despite there being plenty of dry weather, temperatures will be on the cool side and winds will be light to moderate. However, temperatures will increase from midweek so there will be better drying conditions then.
Spraying
There will be some good opportunities for spraying over the coming days as high pressure dominates the weather scene keeping the weather mainly dry and the winds mainly light to moderate.
Field Conditions
Most soils have soil moisture deficits (SMDs) of +5 to +14mm, although some poorly drained soils in the west have SMDs of -1 or -2mm. With plenty of dry weather for most of the week, SMDs are likely to increase, but there will then be deterioration on Friday and into the weekend as the weather changes to be more unsettled. Some poorly drained soils will become saturated and locally waterlogged.
Forecast maps and meteograms can be found on Blight Forecast.
