Barely a Drop in the Southeast as North Soaks Up Rain

A stark rainfall divide has emerged across Ireland over the past week, with parts of the south and southeast seeing barely a drop while the northwest endured wetter-than-normal conditions.

The trend looks set to continue, with largely dry and settled weather forecast for the coming days.

According to the latest data, some areas of north Connacht and west Ulster received between 20 and 25mm of rain over the past seven days — up to 135% of the normal weekly average. In contrast, parts of Munster and Leinster saw very little rainfall, and it was exceptionally dry in the south and southeast. In some locations, just 0.3 to 1.2mm of rain was recorded — less than 10% of what’s typical for this time of year.

Looking ahead, forecasters say the coming week will bring more dry weather across much of the country, with only light showers or patchy drizzle expected — mainly in the north and west early in the week. A weather front may bring some rain from the Atlantic on Sunday night into Monday, but overall rainfall amounts are expected to remain low, ranging from zero in the south and east to around 10mm in the west and north.

Met Éireann says temperatures have remained fairly close to normal overall, with weekly mean air temperatures ranging from 13.3°C at Knock Airport to 16.4°C at Roches Point. Soil temperatures, however, have been running well above average countrywide — between 15.4°C and 18.9°C — thanks to the prolonged dry and sunny spell.

That warm trend is set to continue. Over the next week, mean air temperatures will generally run 1 to 3 degrees above normal, with daily averages of between 16°C and 20°C expected. Soil temperatures will also stay higher than usual.

Sunshine levels have been varied, but mostly favourable. While Knock recorded just 16.2 hours of sunshine — only 52% of its usual total — other stations fared much better. Belmullet saw 28 hours, while Cork Airport topped the charts with 56.9 hours of sunshine over the week. The coming days are expected to be sunnier than average once again, particularly in the south and east.