Weather in Ireland Year Round

The weather in Ireland year round is hugely influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. 

As a result of this influence Ireland does not suffer from the extremes of temperature experienced by many other countries at similar latitude.

The average annual temperature is about 9 °C. In the middle and

east of the country temperatures tend to be somewhat more

extreme than in other parts of the country. Summer mean daily

maximum is about 19 °C and Winter mean daily minimum is about

2.5 °C in these areas.

The mean annual wind speed varies between about 4 m/sec in the east midlands and 7 m/sec in the northwest. Strong winds tend to

be more frequent in winter than in summer. Sunshine duration is

highest in the southeast of the country. Average rainfall varies

between about 800 and 2,800mm.

With southwesterly winds from the Atlantic dominating, rainfall

figures are highest in the northwest, west and southwest of the

country, especially over the higher ground. Rainfall

accumulation tends to be highest in winter and lowest in early

summer.

The annual number of days with more than 1 mm of rain varies

between about 150 in the drier parts and over 200 in the wetter

parts of the country. 

Irish Weather Extremes

The highest air temperature recorded in Ireland was + 33.3°C at

Kilkenny Castle 26th June 1887. The record maximum during the

20th century is +32.5°C at Boora, Co. Offaly on 29th June 1976.

The lowest air temperature was -19.1°C measured at Markree Castle, Co.Sligo on 16th January 1881 while the lowest observed 20th century air temperature was -18.8°C recorded at Lullymore, Co.Kildare on 2nd January 1979.

The lowest observed grass minimum temperature was -19.6°C at Dublin (Glasnevin) on 12th January 1982 which was almost matched by the -19.5°C measured at Lullymore, Co. Kildare on 2nd January 1979. 

Sunshine in Ireland

The sunniest months are May and June. During these months sunshine duration averages between 5 and 6.5 hours per day over most of the country.

The extreme southeast gets the most sunshine, averaging over 7 hours a day in early summer. December is the dullest month with an average daily sunshine ranging from about 1 hour in the north to almost 2 hours in the extreme southeast.

Over the year as a whole most areas get an average of between 3 1/4 and 3 3/4 hours of sunshine each day. 

Rainfall in Ireland

Most of the eastern half of the country has between 750 and 1000 millimetres (mm) of rainfall in the year.

Rainfall in the west generally averages between 1000 and 1250 mm. In many mountainous districts rainfall exceeds 2000mm per year.

The wettest months, almost everywhere are December and January. April is the driest month generally but in many southern parts, June is the driest.

The weather information provided here comes from the Irish weather forecasting service Met. Eireann. 


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