Weather stats make grim reading

Last month was the coolest July in years with many weather stations reporting plenty of rain but very little sunshine.

At 13 degrees, the mean temperature recorded at Malin Head last month was 1.3 degrees below average, the lowest recorded there in 40 years.

Most of the country’s other stations reported their coolest July in at least 10 to 24 years, according to Met Éireann.

The monthly minimum temperature at Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford, was recorded at 7.4 degrees on the 12th of July, its lowest recorded in any year since 1986. Other areas in the west, southwest, south and north recorded the lowest minimum temperatures in 8 to 16 years.

The highest temperature recorded in July was recorded at Dublin’s Phoenix Park on  July 23rd, where it reached 24.3 degrees. At 4.3 degrees, the lowest air temperature was recorded at Markree, Co Sligo, on the 12th.

At the other end of the scale, maximum temperatures were also below average.

Roche’s Point in Co Cork recorded a high of 19.4 degrees*, the lowest reported since 1980. Sherkin Island’s high of 19.7 degrees was the lowest since 1994. Most other maximum temperatures recorded in the west and north were the lowest in five to 24 years.

The country saw higher than average rainfall levels almost everywhere in July. The highest total of 169.1 mm was reported by Valentia Observatory and the lowest total of 76.2 mm was recorded at Carlow.

The highest daily rainfall was also recorded at Valentia Observatory where 32.2 mm fell on July 31st. The number of rain days (days of when 1 mm or more falls) were on or above average, ranged from 14 days of rain in the southeast to over 20 in the southwest.

Sunshine totals were all below expected norms with the average percentage values ranging from 67 per cent at Knock Airport to 89 per cent at Casement Aerodrome. While the station at Dublin Airport saw the most sunshine with just under 138 hours recorded, it was still its dullest July since 2003.

* This article was amended to correct an error