Word from Met: it was wet, wet, wet

FOR the second successive summer, rainfall totals were above normal everywhere and were more than twice the average in the east and southeast.

According to Met Eireann, Dublin Airport had its wettest summer since 1958, while it was the wettest at Cork Airport since records began there in 1962 (450mm).

Exceptionally heavy daily rainfalls included 90mm at Castlemahon, Co Limerick, on July 31, while Belderrig, Co Mayo, measured 100mm on August 13.

Rainfall was recorded somewhere in Ireland each day between July 28 and August 21.

It was also the coolest summer since 2002 in many places, and the dullest summer for six to 14 years at most stations — although the first half of June was sunny.

It was the wettest August on record at a number of Met Eireann stations. A 60-minute fall of 38.4mm at Shannon Airport on the 6th was the heaviest in the station’s 63-year history. In the west and north, the temperature did not rise above 20°C in August.