The soggy southwest tops the sunshine chart

The normally soggy southwest was the sunniest spot in Ireland over the past week.

Valentia Observatory in County Kerry recorded 43.3 hours of sunshine, which is 185% of its seasonal average.

Malin Head in Donegal recorded 33.3 hours of sunshine, which was the lowest total nationally.

Sunshine amounts have, however, been well above normal across the country over the past seven days.

Meanwhile, Met Éireann says the highest amount of rainfall was at Roches Point in County Cork, where 26.5mm fell.

Rainfall totals came in around average or higher further south but were generally below average across northern counties.

Mean air temperatures were above normal ranging from 7.3 to 10.1 °C, which equates to between 0.3 and 1.7 °Cabove normal.

Rainfall totals for the remainder of March and into the first week of April will be below average as high pressure becomes anchored close to or over Ireland.

While the exact positioning of the area of high pressure will determine the extent of any sunshine, latest weather model output suggests low precipitation totals across Ireland from this weekend.

Read our long range forecast for more.