Summer 2024 was Ireland's coldest in nearly a decade, Met Éireann confirms

Malin Head in Donegal and Newport in Mayo had their wettest August ever recorded. File picture

This year's summer was the coldest for nearly a decade, new data from Met Éireann has revealed.

The national forecaster released its climate statement for August, which was the second wettest in recorded history.

This included Malin Head in Donegal and Newport in Mayo having their wettest August ever recorded.

While it was a wet month, it was also a warm one, according to Met Éireann.

The month’s highest temperature was reported at Casement Aerodrome in Dublin on Sunday 11th, with a temperature of 24.3C.

The average temperature reached 15.5C for the entire month, making it the 35th warmest month since records began 125 years ago.

The publication of August's climate statement also allowed Met Éireann to publish a similar look at the summer months.

It was the coldest summer since 2015 — with an average temperature of just 14.5C — just under 0.3C lower than the long-term average from 1991-2020.

Met Éireann says a big factor in the colder-than-usual weather was a number of northerly airflows coming from the Arctic, which set in in early June. 

They blocked any warmer air being pushed from the south.

The blockage lasted until the end of July.

Across the three months of June, July and August, the highest temperature of the season was just 26.6C, which was recorded at the Phoenix Park on Monday, June 24. 

This, too, was the lowest maximum summer temperature for Ireland since 2015.

The season’s lowest minimum air temperature was recorded on Wednesday June 12 at Claremorris in Mayo at just 1.8C

Both June and July were drier than average.

The number of rainy days ranged from 43 days at Roche’s Point in Cork to 73 days at Knock Airport in Mayo. 

The number of wet days (days with 1.0mm or more of rainfall) ranged from 25 days at Oak Park in Carlow, to 57 days at Newport.

By contrast, Dublin Airport had its driest summer since 2018, with just 104.7mm of rain falling across the three months.

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