There will be little reprieve for farmers in the coming week as heavy rain is expected, which will result in well-drained soils becoming saturated and moderately and poorly drained soils becoming waterlogged.
Rainfall totals in southern and western coastal counties of 50-100mm will be up to three times more than the average for the time of year with the higher totals being recorded in elevated areas. Totals will range from 30-50mm further east and north, which is 50% above average. The lowest totals will be in the Dublin area. There will be rainfall each day, with the highest daily totals expected on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Next weekend may provide a brief reprieve before unsettled conditions return.
The coming week’s unsettled weather is in stark contrast to the past week which saw a reverse situation in relation to rainfall totals. The west, midland and northwest of the country experienced drier than normal conditions, but it was wetter than normal elsewhere. Malin Head in Donegal recorded just 3.2mm (13% of average) in comparison to Cork Airport’s 55.6mm of rainfall, which is 222% of its average for the time of year.
Belmullet in Mayo recorded 18.8 hours of sunshine (120% of average), while Dublin Airport was shrouded in cloud for 7 days running, marking the longest sunless streak here since January 1987 (according to Sryan Bruen).
The milder air that has pushed into Munster will continue to spread to the rest of Ireland as the coming week progresses with temperatures eventually reaching 3-4C above average by midweek. This follows a cool week that saw mean temperatures of 7C in southwestern counties compared to 2.9C in north Connacht and Ulster.
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| Credit Meteociel |