Rainy season despite Indian summer

LAST WEEK’S burst of sunshine and summer temperatures have not affected the official verdict on September from Met Éireann: it was warm, wet and dull.

In fact, according to Met Éireann, it was the dullest September in almost three-quarters of a century in some places. In others it was the wettest September since 2005, while average air temperatures were nearly a degree above normal everywhere.

In Dublin, maximum air temperatures at all three monitoring sites – Phoenix Park, Casement Aerodrome and Dublin airport – were the highest since 2003. Minimum air temperatures were also above average for the time of year, with Valentia observatory and Casement Aerodrome reporting their warmest minimum air temperatures in September since 1955 and 1964 respectively.

But if it was warm, there was little sunshine to be enjoyed as values were below average everywhere. Monitoring stations in the south and southwest were the dullest, with Valentia Observatory recording its lowest September sunshine since 1939, Shannon airport reporting its lowest since 1956 and Cork airport since 1962.

Wind speeds for the month were above normal for September, said Met Éireann.

Rainfall in September was above average almost everywhere, with the majority of the highest daily rainfalls recorded last Friday. The west and midlands areas received the highest percentages above normal for the time of year. The highest rainfall totals were recorded at Belmullet and Valentia.

Conditions are expected to change over coming weeks, giving little sunshine, lots of rain and colder temperatures. It seems it really is true that you can tell it is winter in Ireland because the rain gets colder.