It's official: Ireland has just enjoyed the sunniest March in decades, with exceptional sunshine figures experienced everywhere.
Met Éireann monthly data records, which will be published today, reveal that it has been the sunniest March in 20 years for most weather stations and for some the sunniest since their establishment.
Sunshine figures were up all over the country, with 165 per cent of normal sunshine beaming down on Casement weather station at Baldonnel.
But the record goes to Malin Head weather station in Donegal, where it has been the sunniest March since 1929.
"Malin Head has just had the sunniest March in 74 years and that's quite a record," said Met Éireann forecaster Ms Joan Blackburn.
Shannon and Birr weather stations last recorded such a sunny March in 1955, while it was the sunniest March since 1957 in the Kilkenny weather station.
Baldonnel station recorded its sunniest March this year since its inception back in 1964.
"It has been the sunniest March in almost 50 years in a number of stations and in 20 years in most," said Ms Blackburn.
The sunshine is due to a system of high pressure that moved north from its traditional spot near the Azores and settled for an unusually long time very close to Ireland.
"A high pressure took up residence, which prevented Atlantic fronts from crossing the country," said Ms Blackburn. It gave Ireland hazy sunshine while Spain suffered from its absence, with bad weather in March.
No records for lack of rainfall were broken as the month started out "quite wet" with heavy rain until March 12th but "rainfall was well below norm despite this," she told The Irish Times. Belmullet in Co Mayo recorded 92 per cent of normal rainfall, while Malin Head received only 42 per cent of normal rainfall for March.
Cork Airport enjoyed 112 per cent of its normal sunshine quota for March. Mean temperatures were 1.3 degrees to 2.1 degrees above normal for Cork and Kilkenny.
There were no complaints about the sunshine from the Irish Farmers' Association. "It's a bonus for the farmers after a bad winter," said a spokesman.
April will get off to a windy start, with cold, windy showers forecast for today.
But the wind is expected to die off by tomorrow, and a new high pressure coming in from the west means a return to the dry weather forecast for the weekend.