Temperatures above average, but less sunshine overall this summer - Met Eireann

This summer saw above average temperatures across the country, while sunshine levels were well below their Long-Term Average (LTA) in some parts of the country, Met Eireann says.

June and August saw temperatures rise above their monthly averages, while July proved to be more variable, according to the summer report from Met Eireann.

Temperature differences above monthly LTA were largest in the west in June, while parts of the south reported the largest differences below LTA in July, Met Eireann says.

The highest temperatures of the season were mainly recorded between July 17 and 19, while the lowest temperatures were nearly all reported during the first few days of June and July, according to the report.

The summer’s highest temperature of 30.4 degrees was reported at Mount Dillon, Co. Roscommon on July 19, its highest for summer in six years.

Rainfall: majority of places slightly wetter than normal

The majority of places reported on or above summer LTA rainfall, says Met Eireann, with some stations in parts of the west, south and southeast reporting LTA rainfall around three-quarters of their normal rainfall for the season.

All three months of summer reported variable rainfall, with the wettest conditions compared to monthly LTA reported in the east in June with the driest in the southeast in July, according to Met Eireann.

Figures show that Co. Carlow reported its driest summer in nine years, with a percentage LTA rainfall of 72% (137.7mm) compared to 129% at Mullingar, Co. Westmeath with 299mm.

Meanwhile, Sherkin Island in west Co. Cork witnessed the highest daily rainfall over a 24-hour period, Met Eireann says, with 57.9mm falling on August 1, its wettest summer day in 18 years.

Knock Airport reports its dullest summer since 1996, for second year in a row

Summer sunshine totals were nearly all significantly lower than the seasonal sunshine totals reported during spring 2016, according to Met Eireann.

Sunshine levels this summer at Knock Airport in Co. Mayo dropped by 5.9hrs compared to 2015, reporting 71% of its LTA (285.3hrs), its dullest summer since the station opened in 1996, Met Eireann says.

However the Casement Aerodrome in Co. Dublin reported 99% of its LTA, a total of 459.7hrs. The number of dull days this season, according to the summer report, ranged from nine days at Dublin Airport to 25 days at Valentia Observatory, Co. Kerry.

The Poulter Index is a method of rating the summer weather (June to August), using a formula based on mean temperature, rainfall and sunshine for selected stations, i.e. the higher the index, the ‘better’ the summer weather.

This year the summer was average, with the index ranking around mid-way in a comparison of other index values over the last 50 years, Met Eireann says.