Sizzling summer hottest in a decade

SCORCHING temperatures have earned summer 2006 the title of being the warmest, driest and sunniest in more than a decade, according to weather experts.

This was helped by a particularly dry August, after just over one-third of normal rainfall was measured at some Met Éireann stations, including Belmullet in Mayo.

It was the third successive month with below-average rainfalls nationally, meaning dry and pleasant weather for most of the country. But spare a thought for the country’s farmers who are facing a possible shortage of fodder this winter as a result of the improved conditions.