Status Yellow fog warning covers Leinster, Munster and Galway

Met Éireann issued a Status Yellow fog warning at 10:00 tonight (Friday, November 6), covering all of Leinster, all of Munster and Co. Galway. The alert runs until 10:00am on Saturday. The forecaster has advised of poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions across the affected counties.

The warning matters most for anyone moving machinery, livestock feed or milk collections overnight and early on Saturday. Visibility in dense fog can fall to levels that make rural roads, farmyards and loading areas genuinely dangerous.

How will the fog develop?

Mist and fog will form tonight in near-calm conditions, especially across Munster and Leinster. The fog will become dense across the southern half of the country, with impaired visibility.

Patches of drizzle will affect the country early tonight, with more general rain reaching the north and northeast later. Lowest temperatures will range from 2°C to 9°C, coldest where any clearer breaks occur at length.

Friday itself will be cloudy or overcast with patchy outbreaks of rain and drizzle, heavier at times across parts of Leinster and southeast Munster. It will be cool, with highest temperatures of 8°C to 12°C in just a light north-easterly or variable breeze.

What does Saturday look like?

Widespread mist and fog will persist at first on Saturday, with poor visibility especially across Leinster and Munster. The fog will very gradually clear during the morning but will possibly linger in some places.

Conditions will be dull and damp for a time across the north, north-east and the north-midlands, with scattered rain and drizzle. The day will slowly improve, with bright or sunny spells developing. It will be cool and calm, with highest temperatures of 7°C to 11°C.

Saturday night will be mostly dry, though isolated showers will occur in parts of Ulster and Connacht. It will be a foggy night with light winds and lowest temperatures of 2°C to 6°C.

Will the fog clear by Sunday?

Not fully. Sunday will bring a foggy morning, with fog lingering in some areas into the afternoon. Beyond that, the day will be largely dry with light easterly or variable winds and highest temperatures of 7°C to 11°C.

Sunday night is expected to be dry, with fog setting in across much of the country again. The south-west will be the exception, where a moderate to fresh easterly wind will develop and cloud will build. Lowest temperatures will range from 2°C to 6°C.

For farmers, the pattern means three consecutive mornings of reduced visibility. Slurry spreading, silage hauling and any road transport of grain or livestock will face repeated delays or slower running times through the weekend.

What is the outlook for next week?

Fog will lift during Monday morning and most areas will stay dry, with a mix of cloud and sunny spells. Outbreaks of rain will develop in the south-west towards evening. It will be breezier than recent days, with a moderate to fresh easterly wind and highest temperatures of 8°C to 12°C.

Tuesday looks set to bring a dry and bright start over the northern half of the country. Dull and damp conditions in the southwest will slowly spread northwards through the day. Highest temperatures of 9°C to 14°C are expected in moderate to fresh east to south-east winds.

The shift to breezier easterly winds from Monday should finally break the fog cycle. Farmers planning fieldwork or haulage should watch Monday morning's clearing, which signals the first reliable window of the week.