Ireland basks in temperatures up to 4 degrees above normal

Met Éireann has reported that temperatures across Ireland were significantly warmer than average over the past week, with mean air temperatures running between 1.6 and 3.8 degrees above normal.

Mean air temperatures ranged from 16.6 to 18.9 degrees nationwide, while mean soil temperatures were also unusually high at 17.7 to 20.6 degrees, between 3.0 and 4.6 degrees above average. The forecaster expects conditions to remain warmer than normal in the coming week, although values are likely to cool somewhat by the end of next week. Soil temperatures will also stay well above normal.

The week was notably dry, with rainfall totals ranging from just 1 to 41 per cent of average at weather stations across the country. Dublin Airport recorded only 0.1 mm of rain, while the southwest was somewhat wetter, with Valentia in Co Kerry registering 10.6 mm. The coming week is expected to remain drier than average for most regions, though showers will occur, particularly in the south and southwest. Some of these may be heavy or thundery, leading to localised high accumulations.

Sunshine levels were also above normal, running between 108 and 164 per cent of average. The brightest location was Casement Aerodrome in Co Dublin with 56.0 hours recorded, while Knock Airport in Co Mayo was less sunny with 36.0 hours. Looking ahead, sunshine is forecast to remain above average across most areas, with occasional cloudy spells.