Last month 'the wettest March on record in Ireland', provisional data shows

Tue, 04 Apr, 2023 - 13:54

Mairead Sheehy, Michelle McGlynn and Matilda Head

Last month saw "provisionally the wettest March on record in Ireland", according to new data Met Éireann.

Data from the March Climate Statement, released on Tuesday, found an average of 173.3mm of rain falling last month.

Storm Larisa, named by Meteo France, brought heavy rain which turned to sleet and snow when it bumped into a cold arctic air mass early in the month.

The rest of the month followed a pattern of mild weather followed by Atlantic low pressure systems which steered bands of rain, interspersed with showers, some of which were thundery.

The South and East fared the worst when it came to rainfall in March.

Valentia Observatory in Kerry recorded its wettest March since 1963 with 239.2mm of rain falling — 193% of its long-term average.

Cork Airport experienced its wettest March since 1981. The airport saw 34.7mm of rainfall on March 9, its highest daily fall for March since 2013.

Elsewhere, Dublin Airport reported its wettest March in 76 years as did the Phoenix Park.

During the month of March, Oak Park in Carlow experienced 28 rain days and Claremorris in Mayo had the lowest number of rain days at 22.

It follows the fourth driest February on record which was documented in the month prior.

The previous wettest March was recorded in 2019, according to the national forecaster, with the records being kept for the last 83 years. March 2019 saw Ireland hit by both Storm Freya and Storm Gareth.

Flooding at South Terrace in Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane.

The past two years, the majority of rainfall totals were below average and air temperatures were above average.

It follows a trend in this part of the world, with the UK Met Office reporting that England had its wettest March in more than 40 years.

Data up to March 30 showed 111.3mm of rain has fallen in the month, 91% more than average.

Wales and Northern Ireland also had one of their top 10 wettest Marches on record, according to the research.

Wales had 197.5mm of rain, some 91% more than its long-term average, whilst Northern Ireland saw 137.4mm of rain, 58% more than average.

Ireland enjoyed higher than average temperatures in March despite a cool start to the month.

The highest temperature was recorded in the Phoenix Park on March 29 at 17.1 degrees. The lowest was recorded just two days earlier at nearby Dublin Airport when it dipped as low as -4.3 degrees.

Despite the higher temperatures, March was a dull month overall. The number of dull days ranged from six at Malin Head, Donegal to 14 days at both Johnstown Castle, Wexford and Cork Airport.

Belmullet in Mayo enjoyed the most of the sunshine with 105.5 hours of sunshine during March while Cork Airport recorded the lowest at 46.7 hours.

Sunny spells due

Meanwhile, Met Éireann is predicting that dry weather and sunny spells will settle in this week after some initial wet conditions.

Tuesday will see periods of dry spells, with "spots of light rain or drizzle" expected throughout the west and northwest of the country.

"The rain will then turn more persistent in the evening, gradually extending eastwards across the country by tomorrow night," the forecaster warned.

Wednesday promises to be a wet morning, with "widespread rain, heavy in places with localised spot flooding possible".

The conditions are set to clear, bringing an array of "scattered showers" and "sunny spells" in the west throughout the afternoon.

Thursday will see "good sunny spells" with a few light showers across the country, while Friday will be a "dry day with plenty of sunny spells, turning hazy at times".

Temperatures will drop to lows of -1C on Thursday night but Friday will see warmer weather with highs of 14C expected.

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