July hottest on record, but rain never far away

This July may have been the hottest on record for most of the country — but the torrential rain towards the end of the month still managed to bump up rainfall totals to above average for some parts.

It was revealed yesterday that July was the warmest on record at stations in the West as well as parts of Dublin, the South-West, and Midlands.

Cork Airport recorded 264.7 hours of sunshine during last month, the highest in the country and the most the station has seen since 1962.

The highest temperature was recorded in Kerry where it hit 30.3C at Ardfert on Jul 19.

Johnstown Castle had 19 days without rain, with drought conditions between Jul 4 and 20.

The highest daily rainfall was at Ballincurrig in Cork with 62.5mm on Jul 24/25.

The highest hourly rainfall recorded was 33.4mm at Dunsany, Co Meath, during a thunderstorm on the morning of Jul 25. Met Éireann said that was a more than one-in-50-year rainfall event, with its daily total of 48.4mm a one-in-five-year rainfall event and its wettest July day since 1964.