July weather sets records for the wrong reasons

If you think the August weather is looking particularly grim, July was officially a washout.

According to Met Éireann’s review of July weather, it was cold, wet and windy “everywhere” — hardly encouraging as we approach the back end of the summer.

However, some solace is at hand. Met Éireann has said that although mixed weather is set to continue, we can expect a “good deal of dry weather”, particularly in the east and south.

The weekend will be mainly dry but with scattered showers at times. After the weekend, the early indications are that we can expect a fair amount of dry weather.

That’s a vast improvement on July. Met Éireann pointed out that all monthly rainfall stations had above average rainfall in July, with the south faring particularly badly. Cork airport had 158.8mm of rain in the month, it’s the wettest July since 2009.

Stations in parts of the South and West reported between four and six very wet days (over 10mm of rainfall) with the month’s wettest day at Cork Airport, where on July 6 over 41mm of rain fell — its wettest July day in a decade.

In fact, most stations in Atlantic coastal counties reported their wettest July in five or six years.

In terms of heat, last month wasn’t too much to write home about either with mean air temperatures well below their long-term average (LTA). Claremorris in Mayo had a monthly average temperature of just 13.1C — its coldest July since 1965 and its third coldest since records began in 1950.

Stations at Markree in Sligo and Ballyhaise in Cavan recorded their coldest July in seven and eight years respectively.

Other stations at Cork Airport, Johnstown Castle in Wexford, Mullingar, and Shannon Airport all reported their coldest July since 1988.

The month’s highest temperature of 23.8C was recorded at Mountdillon in Roscommon on the first day of July, while the lowest temperature of 3.1C was recorded at the same location on July 24.

Dublin Airport’s lowest temperature of 3.9C recorded on July 15 was its lowest July temperature since the station opened in 1942.

Stations in Mullingar and Athenry both recorded ground frost. Average wind speeds were the highest for July in five to 27 years, with Shannon Airport reporting a monthly mean wind speed of 10.8 knots (20 km/h) — its highest for July since 1974. Gale force winds were reported on three separate days in the North and West.

The highest 10-minute average wind speed and the month’s highest gust were reported at Malin Head on July 17 at 77km/h and 105km/h respectively. This was its highest gust for July in five years with its 10-minute wind speed the highest recorded during July since 1988.