Clones in Co Monaghan may yet become the Costa del Sol of Ireland, following the news that it recorded the highest temperature in the State this summer.
Its weather station recorded a top temperature of 25.6 degrees on the bank holiday Monday of August 5th. At the other end of the scale, Kilkenny provided the lowest temperature this summer. On June 5th, its temperature fell to 2.5 degrees.
Now that the summer is officially over, it may surprise people to hear that August was one of the driest and hottest months we've had in years.
Rain levels were half of the usual quantities at most weather stations, and average temperatures were one degree higher than normal, according to Met Éireann. "June and July were very wet, but August was drier than normal just about everywhere, since 1995," said Ms Joanna Donnelly, meteorologist at Met Éireann.
During June and July parts of the east and north-west received from 20 to 40 per cent more rain than normal. But overall, it was the driest summer in six or seven years at most weather stations in the south-east.
And the good news is that the sunshine and settled weather will continue today and tomorrow.
Tillage farmers will be hoping that the good weather lasts for the week, according to Mr Andy Doyle, tillage editor of the Farmers' Journal. He said about 50 per cent of the harvest was now complete, but if the good weather continued, most of the work would be finished by the end of the week.
Farmers would usually be further on with harvesting at this time, but the unpredictable weather had led to a difficult harvest for farmers and contractors. "Contractors have so much work to do, but they only get so far before they have to stop with the weather," he added.
