Quieter August on Offer

August overall, will be a much quieter month than its wet predecessor. Temperatures are currently in the range 16 to 19c and this will probably be the daily average over the month. There will however be some wet and windy days too and this weekend is looking a bit Autumnal for Friday and Saturday especially. Rainfall for the month will be much less than Julys record breaking figures.However the North and West will probably see more rain and less in the way of sunshine than the South and East.

July Weather Summary Ireland

Apart from a short spell of dry weather between the 7th and 9th, rain or showers were recorded on eachday during July, resulting in record high monthly totals at some stations. The weather pattern of theprevious two summers was repeated, with Atlantic depressions tracking over or close to Ireland,producing substantial falls of rain at times, with frequent thunderstorms. The north and northwest ofthe country fared relatively well, however; in these areas the lowest rainfall totals were recorded and bothmean temperatures and sunshine amounts were well above normal. Over twice the normal July rainfalltotals were recorded over most parts of the country, with more than three times the normal amount inparts of Leinster and Munster. It was the wettest July for over 50 years in many places and the wettest onrecord at a number of stations, including Valentia Observatory, where records began more than acentury ago. Dublin (Phoenix Park)’s total of 122mm was its highest for July since 1936, while JohnstownCastle’s total of 222mm represents 389% of its normal July fall. Most stations recorded between 19 and25 wetdays during the month (days with 1mm or more rainfall), twice the normal range for July ofbetween nine and 13. There was localised flooding in both eastern and western areas on the 2ndfollowing severe thunderstorms; Dublin Airport’s value of 42mm on this day was its highest on recordfor July. Temperatures showed little variation during the month and were near or a little above normalthroughout. Many stations recorded their highest values on either the 1st or 2nd, but at a number ofstations the temperature did not rise above 20°C on any day. Despite the very high rainfall totals,sunshine amounts were above normal generally, with many days having sunny mornings and earlyafternoons, before the development of showers. Sunshine totals were highest in the north and northwestof the country, where Belmullet’s total of 188 hours was its highest for July since 1982.

UK Met Office get Flak

The UK Met Office previously predicted a "barbeque Summer" which here at weathergossip has slightly downgraded to a Summer of warm spells interspersed with cooler periods. Now most of the warmth seems to be behind us. I would sympathize with Met Office as the are a useful and accurate resource for all weather forecasting and they did say it would only be a "65%" chance of a good Summer. It questions whether it is a good idea to offer a seasonal forecast when it is in the infancy of its scientific development. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/2009/pr20090729.html

No end in sight

The unsettled weather is here to stay. Certainly for all of July and for most of August too. There may be brief interludes of dry days in between but it looks like rain every day at some stage for the rest of July (except maybe Saturday 25th). So far Dublin Airport has had more rain than July 2008 and 3 times its summer average for July.

Weather Rest of July

It will remain cool showery and unsettled until the last few days of July when a High to the West will be trying to sneak in. Ultimately it will not succeed in August though and the cool and showery weather will return. Unfortunate but this is what the weather models are signalling for now for the UK and Ireland.

July Weather Graph

So far July has been characterized by normal temperatures and humid and showery conditions with no real sign of settled conditions. Here is a temperature and pressure graph for Sligo.