Dry June, wetter July

June is looking like being a very dry month in some parts, esp in the West, though the end of the month is going to bring some much needed rain for the gardens. Before that temperatures will be up to the early 20s for the next week or so with just a brief interuption on Thursday. It now looks like a Low pressure will move over us from the East toward the end of the month, while the High will be pushed out to the West. This could set a pattern of more showery weather for the month of July but watch this space.

Contrasting June

June has so far been a month of contrasts in Ireland with the West and North seeing much less rain than the East and South. In these parts the totals so far for the month have reached over 50% of normal on the back of a wet bank holiday weekend. The West and North saw more in the way of sunshine and very little if any rain in some parts of Mayo, Sligo and Donegal. Here the total for the month rainfall wise is only at 5%. The next few days promise some more rain for all areas though these parts of the North and West may escape until the end of the week when they too will get some rain. Last June started off dry in the West and North only to be followed by a really wet Summer but this year the medium range forecast is a pretty dry one with High Pressure moving in after 13th June, though a Northwest wind may bring weak fronts and mist to the North and West at times.

June starts off cool

After quite a dry May which could be the driest in some areas since 1991 we now head into June which promises a mix of warm and cold spells at present. The warmth seems to be signalled to the end and the cool weather will be more especially at the start. Precipitation amounts are quite uncertain as yet but it does look as though the Atlantic influence will return for a time unlike in May when we had an unusual ly quiet atlantic.

People looking for heatwaves like the couple of really hot days we got in May (26c was recorded in Mount Dillon in Roscommon and near 30c was recorded in the Southeast of England) may be quite disappointed. Apart from a few warm days here and there it does not look like a prolonged warm spell will occur for at least the first half of the month. Again we would hope the second half brings about a better spell of weather.

So to finish..May will for certain record below average rainfall, above average sunshine and temperatures slightly above the seasonal average. Not a bad start to the Summer season at all.

A Warm end to May

The month ends on a dry and briefly warm note with temperatures of up to 24c over this weekend. Then as the High shifts to the West of Ireland we see the return of the cursed volcanic Northerlies and the temperatures plummet once more. One advantage of the lack of a continuous stream of warm Southerlies is that the warm air is having little chance to influence our weather in the form of heavy and thundery rain and any rain coming from the North is being blocked by the High out in the Atlantic. It looks like the High will stay near the Azores for the start of June too keeping our weather cooler than we would expect for this period.

May Cool but getting Warmer

The cool weather of May and 2010 in general is about to be replaced in the coming week by some much sought after warm weather. Temperatures in some favoured spots will reach up to or over 20c depending on the position of the High Pressure. This warm weather looks like it could last into next weekend too. It will also have the effect of preventing volcanic ash getting near Ireland because there will be a South or South Westerly airflow in place.

Further ahead June is looking like it will bring both a mix of Sunny and Dry spells but also a lot of unsettled weather too at times with heavy showers. Temperatures should pick up in this month during any prolonged sunny periods at least. The normal average for June is 16c by day and 8 or 9c by night so frost is a rarity in Ireland then.

A cold start to May

A very cold start to May which is seen by some as the start of the Summer season. The Met Office though puts June, July and August as the Summer so there is no need to worry yet. 2010 has been characterised by a lot of cold weather and this looks set to continue for the first half of May with temperatures near to or below average. The temperature at night will be even less impressive with low single figures the norm on any clear night that happens to arrive. Growth is still lagging behind normal despite the fact that we are well into may some of the plants have only bloomed though a lot of the trees are at their late Spring best now.The best chance of any warm weather arriving in May will come towards the end of the month.