It’s official: last winter was wettest on record

The winter of 2013-2014 was the wettest on record. Met Éireann has confirmed what many had suspected.

The west and south of the country were particularly badly affected by rain. Newport in Co Mayo had only 10 days without rain in three months of winter.

Valentia Observatory in Co Kerry, traditionally the wettest weather station in the country, recorded a phenomenal 848mm of rain (33½in) in December, January and February. That was the highest figure since records began there in 1866, and 183 per cent of what is normal for the season.

Last month 292.4mm fell at the same weather station, also a record. That was almost 2½ times the normal rainfall for the month.

Malin Head in Co Donegal had its wettest winter since records began there in 1885 with 530.7mm on rain. Shannon Airport had its wettest winter on record (68 years), as did Mullingar since its weather station was set up 63 years ago.

It was also the wettest February since records began, with many stations recording 27 of 28 days as wet.

It was an exceptionally windy winter with a series of Atlantic storms battering the country from St Stephen’s Day through to the end of last month.

The highest gust of the season was 158km/h on February 12th at Shannon Airport, its highest on record, while the highest mean speed was 120km/h at Mace Head in Galway on the same day.

February 12th saw a new record maximum wave of 25m at the Kinsale Energy gas platform.

Southwesterly winds
Because of the prevalence of southwesterly winds, it was also an extremely mild winter. The lowest temperature was just minus 4.3 degrees at Mullingar on February 10th.

Shannon Airport recorded its highest minimum temperature for the winter since records began.

Met Éireann climatologist Seamus Walsh said the wet and mild winter was consistent with climate change, though he cautioned against assuming that the weather for any season can be attributed to it.

He said Met Éireann's long-term weather statistics have shown a 0.5 degree centigrade rise in temperatures in recent decades which means there is 6 per cent more moisture in the atmosphere.

Atlantic storms
He said the most unusual feature of the weather was the number of Atlantic storms.

“This pattern of a storm every three or four days is unlikely to become a common feature of our weather.”

He blamed a polar front over the country for almost the entire season as contributing to the wet and windy weather.

The polar front, where cold air from the north meets warm air from the south, often drifts southward leading to cold clear conditions. If it drifts north it brings unseasonably mild winter weather.