Spring goes out on a high

Spring ended in style with parts of the country basking in the highest May temperatures for up to 11 years, it was revealed today.

Sun worshippers flocked to beaches over the bank holiday weekend to soak up the blistering heat, with Saturday Dublin’s sunniest day in May since the mid 1980s.

But despite the summery close, the season was hit with more rain than normal with Malin Head in Co Donegal suffering its wettest spring in 17 years.

Although April and May were plagued by downpours, March was relatively dry and Met Éireann said on the whole sunshine levels were higher than usual.

The heaviest daily spring rainfall for between six and 14 years was recorded in the northwest and north on April 7.

Between 35 and 43 wetdays were recorded in the east and south, but more than 50 were measured in western areas.

While the final days of May brought the highest temperatures to several areas of the country for between six and eleven years, rain and strong winds battered the country earlier in the month.

The heaviest falls were recorded between the 14th and 23rd, when thunderstorms broke out a number of times.

Average temperatures were above normal everywhere.

The highest temperature was recorded in Birr, Co Offaly on Sunday at 24.4°C, while the lowest was 0.3C in Claremorris, Co Mayo on May 10.

Some 15.2 hours of sunshine was measured at Dublin Airport on May 30 – its highest for May since 1985.

But the pressing question for now is how long will the hot and sunny weather continue?

Met Éireann is forecasting the week to be mainly dry, but unfortunately the temperatures are due to drop back to the high teens by the weekend with an increased risk of showers.