Not much change in soil conditions expected

Poor weather condition across the country are having a detrimental impact on farming. The problems experienced by farms and homes on the east coast may be the most severe, but midlands farmers are also experiencing significant difficulties.

January 2026 was a cool and wet month, most stations recording monthly rainfall totals above their 1991-2020 Long-Term Average (LTA). Ireland’s rainfall was 123% of the LTA (164mm), ranking it the 18th wettest nationally and the wettest since 2018, according to a recent Met Éireann Climate Statement.

Data for the midlands, derived from readings from stations in Gurteen, Tipperary and Mullingar, shows a similar situation. In January Gurteen had 94.9 mm or 107% of its LTA. Mullingar had 117.8 mm or 128% of its LTA for the month of January. To compare that with last January, Gurteen registered 73.7mm of rain. Mullingar’s figure of 59.8mm for the same month last year is almost half of this year’s reading.

Soil temperature for the opening month of the year is also down on previous years for Mullingar at 3.8C, while last year it was 4.3C. Gurteen was around the same for the last three years at 4.4C.

The increased rainfall has resulted in the soils in the midlands becoming saturated to waterlogged, with poor trafficability for machinery. Similar to many areas in Leinster, moderate soils are saturated while poorer, heavy soils are waterlogged. Due to forecast rain, little change in soil conditions is expected in the immediate future.

Rainfall amounts over the last week were above normal across most of Leinster and in eastern parts of Munster, and two or three times the normal amount of rain fell in parts of the east and southeast. In contrast, the west and north-west had below average amounts of rainfall.

It was wettest at Johnstown Castle, where an accumulation of 68.7mm was recorded (324% of average) and driest at Malin Head with an accumulation of 8.4mm (31% of average). Rainfall amounts will vary over the next seven days, but will remain above average in the east and southeast, with three times the normal amount of rain forecast for these areas. It will be driest across the northwest.