Ireland has recorded its mildest November night on record with temperatures some 10 degrees higher than what should be expected for the time of year.
The highest minimum temperature for the month was recorded at Shannon Airport.
Between 9pm on Thursday night and 9am on Friday morning the minimum temperature never dropped below 15.5 degrees. The previous record was 14.6 degrees.
Five other Met Éireann stations, Mullingar, Phoenix Park, Gurteen, Finner and Dublin Airport also recorded their mildest ever November night.
The usual temperatures for a November night are between 5 and 7 degrees.
Northern Ireland had its highest minimum of 14.5 degrees recorded at Magilligan in Co Derry and Kingloss in northern Scotland recorded its highest minimum of 14.6 degrees.
Met Éireann forecasting services manager Alan Hally said the extraordinary conditions for November have been caused by a “atmospheric river of warm air which has been brought up from the tropics by a strong southwesterly breeze,” he said.
“Though it’s windy, there is no windchill factor like you would normally get in November because of the mild weather we are getting.”
The mild weather will continue into the middle of next week. Temperatures of between 13 and 15 degrees can be expected. The norm for this time of year is between nine and 11 degrees.
There is a possibility of very strong winds on Monday and Tuesday before temperatures settle back to more normal levels in the second half of next week.]
[ Can the planet cope with a population of eight billion people?Opens in new window ]
November last year was also exceptionally mild. “All of this is what you would expect and is indicative of climate change,” he added.
Winds across the country on Thursday were so strong that they generated more than 80 per cent of all electricity demand for the entire island. This is the third highest ever all-island daily wind demand ratio.
The very mild and wet autumn across northern Europe is also affecting sea temperatures with are unprecedented for the time of year. Some Atlantic buoys are showing sea temperatures of 14 degrees.
“These are very unusual temperatures and indicative of the mild weather we are having,” Mr Hally said.
