March the coldest on record for most of country

It will hardly come as a surprise to those examining their heating bills for last month but Met Éireann confirmed March was the coldest on record for most of the country.

Only the South and South-West have ever recorded lower temperatures for this time of year. Dublin Airport reported an average temperature of 3.1C for the month, its coldest March since the site opened 71 years ago.

It was a similar picture in the West, where Met Éireann’s Claremorris and Mullingar stations reported their lowest average since they opened in 1950. Met Éireann said the majority of stations in the South and South-West reported their coldest March in 51 years with the exception of Shannon Airport, which reported its coldest March in 58 years.

Across the country, the highest mean monthly temperature was 6C at Sherkin Island, its coldest March since 1979. The lowest average temperature recorded was 2.7C at Knock Airport. Overall, the highest temperature recorded was 14.3C at Athenry on Mar 8 while the lowest air temperature was -7.6C at Markree in Sligo on Mar 12.

However, it was not just the cold which saw March setting unwanted records.

Met Eireann said while rainfall was on or above average in the East, SouthEast, and in parts of the South, most areas reporting it as their wettest March in five to seven years. For example Cork Airport reported its wettest March in 17 years. A fifth of that rainfall occurred on the 21st and 22nd. The 41.2mm which fell at the airport on Mar 21 was its highest daily rainfall since 1996.

Also, while sunshine totals were on or above average in the West and South-West they were below average elsewhere, with Dublin stations having their dullest March since 1996.