PARTS OF the country have had their coolest July in almost 50 years, with sunshine below average everywhere and temperatures between 0.5 degree and one degree below normal for July.
It was also the dullest July in parts since 1997, but almost all stations recorded below average rainfall for the month.
The monthly weather summary, covering the weather of July 1st to July 28th, was published by Met Éireann over the weekend.
“The majority of mean air temperatures for the month were lower than normal, with temperatures across the country being around 0.5°C to 1°C below average,” the bulletin says.
“Dublin airport and Casement Aerodrome reported their coolest July in 46 and 31 years respectively, while other stations in the south and southeast recorded the coolest July since 1988.”
The highest temperatures for July were almost all recorded during periods of high pressure at the end of the month.
The highest temperature was recorded at 24.4 degrees at Oak Park, Co Carlow, on July 27th. The lowest minimum air temperature during July was 4.7 degrees, recorded at Casement Aerodrome – the lowest for the station since 1988.
Cork airport’s minimum air temperature of 6.2 degrees was the lowest there in 46 years.
Grass minimum temperatures were particularly low for July. Valentia Observatory and Cork airport recorded grass minimum temperatures of 1.6 and 1.5 degrees, their lowest since 1940 and 1980 respectively.
“Both sunshine and mean wind speeds for July were below normal everywhere,” the summary continued. “It was the dullest July since 1997 at Knock airport while the monthly mean wind speed of 8.8 knots (16km/h) at Belmullet was the lowest measured at the station in over 40 years.”
Perhaps surprisingly, almost all stations had a drier than average July. “Almost all of the highest daily falls [of rain] were recorded during the unsettled period between the 4th and 8th, with the highest daily fall of 34.9mm recorded at Knock airport during this period.”
