Question : What’s the Weather Like in Ireland?

The dominant influence on Ireland’s climate is the Atlantic Ocean. Consequently, Ireland does not suffer from the extremes of temperature experienced by many other countries at similar latitude.

Average annual temperature is about 9 °C. In the middle and east of the country temperatures tend to be somewhat more extreme than in other parts of the country. For example, summer mean daily maximum is about 19 °C and winter mean daily minimum is about 2.5 °C in these areas.

Mean annual windspeed varies between about 4 m/sec in the east midlands and 7 m/sec in the northwest. Strong winds tend to be more frequent in winter than in summer. Sunshine duration is highest in the southeast of the country. Average rainfall varies between about 800 and 2,800mm.

With southwesterly winds from the Atlantic dominating, rainfall figures are highest in the northwest, west and southwest of the country, especially over the higher ground. Rainfall accumulation tends to be highest in winter and lowest in early summer.

The annual number of days with more than 1 mm of rain varies between about 150 in the drier parts and over 200 in the wetter parts of the country. Met Éireann has station data, dating back to the 19th century, for a number of stations.

Temperature in Ireland

The moderating influence of the Atlantic is felt throughout Ireland. The country therefore does not experience the same range of temperatures throughout the year as more continental countries do. Although our inland stations show more variation, even at these there is only about one day or less per year when the air temperature stays below freezing point. Minimum air temperature falls below zero on about 40 days per year at the inland stations, but on less than 10 days per year in most coastal areas. Air temperatures inland normally reach 18 to 20 °C during summer days, and about 8 °C during wintertime.

Sunshine in Ireland

The sunniest months are May and June. During these months sunshine duration averages between 5 and 6.5 hours per day over most of the country. The extreme southeast gets the most sunshine, averaging over 7 hours a day in early summer. December is the dullest month with an average daily sunshine ranging from about 1 hour in the north to almost 2 hours in the extreme southeast. Over the year as a whole most areas get an average of between 3 1/4 and 3 3/4 hours of sunshine each day.

Data provide from Met Eireann Website.