A Week of Weather Extremes

It’s been a tale of two Irelands this past week, with sizzling sunshine in the south and soaking rains in the east.

According to Met Éireann, rainfall was well above average across much of the eastern half of the country, with Casement Aerodrome topping the charts at 42.8mm — nearly three times its usual levels. Meanwhile, it was a far drier story out west, with just 1.9mm falling at Ireland West Airport, Knock — the lowest in the country.

Temperatures stayed on the warm side throughout the week, with mean air temperatures ranging from 14.9°C to 16.6°C. It will stay warm for a few more days, with highs in the mid-20s, but a cooler, more unsettled spell is set to kick in from Sunday. Still, southern and eastern coasts may hold onto warmer-than-usual conditions.

Cork Airport soaked up the most rays, clocking 65 hours of sunshine — 160% of the norm — while Malin Head had a gloomier week with just 28.6 hours. Next week brings a mixed bag, but expect sunshine levels to even out close to average.

Drying and spraying conditions remain good today and into Saturday, but don’t hang your hopes on a dry spell — rain and breezy spells will return from Sunday, especially across the west and north.

Soil-wise, the south is still hanging onto significant moisture deficits, but that’s set to change. Saturated and even waterlogged fields are likely to develop in coastal western and northern counties, and parts of the Midlands, as the unsettled conditions roll in.