Record levels of rainfall fell last year as heavy showers swept across the country, meteorologists said today.
Met Eireann's weather summary revealed annual number of wet days were up to 20 per cent above normal everywhere in 2008, with 140 recorded at Casement Aerodrome and 234 at Knock Airport.
It said the last 12 months were the wettest for between six and 22 years generally.
Shannon Airport measured its highest-ever hourly fall when 38mm was recorded during a thunderstorm on August 6, while its annual total of 1270mm was the highest at the station since it opened in 1945.
The year's highest daily value of 102mm was measured at Belderrig, Co Mayo, on August 13th.
"The distribution of rainfall over the year was very uneven," the summary stated.
"After a relatively dry spring, there followed a spell of very wet weather between late May and mid-September.
"The summer period of June, July and August was exceptionally wet for the second year running and it was the wettest summer at Dublin Airport for 50 years.
"The summer also brought the heaviest daily falls, leading to flooding in many parts of the country."
Elsewhere, air temperatures for the year were around half a degree above normal for the 1961-90 period at most stations, but it was still the coolest year for between six and 14 years generally.
May was the warmest month at most stations, but the highest temperatures of the year were during the last week of July.
Met Eireann said that according to provisional figures released by the World Meteorological Organisation, the global mean temperature for 2008 is estimated at 0.31°C above the 1961-1990 annual average of 14.0°C, making this the tenth warmest year since the beginning of the instrumental climate record in 1850.
Wind speeds for the year — between 7 and 12 knots generally (13 and 22km/h) — were above normal everywhere and the strongest gust of the year, at 91 knots (168km/h), was recorded at Malin Head on January 9.
Meanwhile, Met Eireann said apart from a week of mild weather after mid-month, December was the coldest for between seven and 12 years.
Ground frost severe in places at the beginning and end of the month, with a total of between 18 and 25 ground frosts during the month at inland stations, compared with the normal range of 13 to 17.
PA