Irish farmers have faced a much wetter than average week, according to Met Éireann’s latest farming weather commentary.

Some areas received more than four times the normal rainfall for this time of year, with the south and east hardest hit. Johnstown Castle in Co. Wexford recorded 105 millimetres, while rainfall amounts were closer to average on the western coast, with Belmullet in Co. Mayo measuring 18.1 millimetres.

The weather is expected to remain generally settled over the next few days, with little rainfall apart from some showers in the north and west. Conditions will turn wetter again from Friday evening, with the heaviest totals likely over the northern half of the country.

Temperatures over the past week were near or above normal, ranging from 6.2 to 10 degrees Celsius. However, colder weather is expected this week, particularly on Thursday, with overnight frosts and daytime highs in the low single figures in some areas. Temperatures are then forecast to rise through Friday and into the weekend, though overall air temperatures are expected to remain between 1 and 3 degrees below the November average.

Soil temperatures are currently above normal, ranging from 8.3 to 10.5 degrees Celsius, but are expected to fall slightly in the coming week.

Sunshine was below normal in most parts of the country, apart from the southwest, which saw slightly above average hours. Dublin Airport recorded just 8.1 hours of sunshine, while the sunniest area was the southwest with 15.2 hours. Today and Thursday are expected to bring plenty of sun, before cloud and rain move in from the west on Friday. Overall, sunshine totals for the week are likely to be above normal.

Drying conditions remain poor, with soils saturated or waterlogged across much of the country. While there may be brief spells of drier weather this week, further rain at the end of the week is likely to worsen conditions in moderately and poorly drained fields.

Met Éireann notes that there will be limited opportunities for spraying on Thursday and for a time on Friday. These opportunities will decline as the weekend brings more unsettled conditions.