Cool Weather in General

Although the weather in recent weeks has been very mild for the start of October both in Ireland and the UK, it is set to get cooler in the coming few weeks with a lot of rain and some wintry showers at times. Snow is not likely except on the highest peaks but it will be a good deal cooler.

What is the cause of this? Well for nearly all of 2011 the weather pattern has been coming from the Atlantic and in the last few months in particular it has been coming from the Northwest. This resulted in a very cool June and August.

Again we are looking at a continuation of this weather pattern in the coming few weeks with a lot of windy weather to go along with it so it will feel very seasonal though perhaps too early for any snow lovers to take out the skis.

Take it that temperatures are now going to be below normal or at average and rainfall will be above average especially along the already soaked Atlantic seaboard.

Warm end to September

September has ended on a real warm note with a high of 25.5c recorded in the Pheonix Park and 24.4c in Casement.

These temperatures are comparable to anything that Ireland experienced over the Summer that has already been recorded as the coolest in over 50 years in some parts.

Well the rest of September looks set to remain mild or even warm but there will be more cloud than September 28th and there will be a lot of rain in the Western half of the country which has seen a very wet September overall in 2011.

2011 Summer coolest in 50 years

The Summer just gone has not been notable for anything really apart from the fact that it has been a very cool one.

Temperatures for each of the 3 months are over a degree below what would normally be expected in Ireland.

The last days of August have not improved the trend and September is not looking like causing much of an improvement either.

So what has caused the Summer to be so cool?

Some would say that the number of volcanoes has an affect on it but this is not always true.

The main consensus points to the Southerly point of the Jetstream which has resulted in all the cooler air from the North being dragged over the British Isles instead of warmer air from the Southwest if the Azores High had come over us at all.

Its too far to say it yet but if the long standing Northerly dominance of our weather persists as it has done throughout 2011 we could be in for yet another of those freezing cold Winters.

No Sign of Summer

The past week has seen between 40 and 60mm of rain in many parts of Ireland with very little sunshine and it certainly looks like Summer 2011 is going to go down as yet another poor Summer.

The last time there was widespread heat for Summer in Ireland was July 2005 and even then there was a lot of thunderstorms. There was also some warm weather in August 2003 so it would seem that cool Summers are now the norm.

However globally the temperature is rising so how  is it that Ireland is not benefitting?

A lot of it has to do with the Jetstream which has been to the South or over Ireland for the past 6 Summers now. As long as this is the case we will continue to get these cool Summers.

Also as long as it happens in the Winter we will get freezing conditions. Conversely the Polar Sea Ice in the North Pole is at its lowest level for the time of year and may end up at its lowest level ever around the start of September. This can have the effect of altering the climate patterns of the Northern Hemisphere but Scientists are as of yet uncertain exactly how it will affect Ireland.

We are definitely in a period of climate transition in Ireland but it does seem that we are currently in a cool phase of weather and Summer will need to be written off for another year unfortunately.

A thundery scene for August.

Thundery weather becoming prevalent in August with Heavy Rain at times. There will also be some dry spells too. Temperatures are going to be near normal or slightly below but there will be the odd warm day too. Normal daytime values for August in Ireland are 16 to 18 or 19c but on the warm days they will reach 21 or 22c

July Becomes Cooler

Not the headline that you want to see on the long range weather prediction but this is the way it looks for the coming 7 to 10 days.


A lot of rain and showers and quite windy from the Northwest.


Toward the end of the period things are trying to settle down once more so we should hit 20c once again.

Cooler Weather on Way

Will we get 25c in Ireland this Summer? Strangely April is the warmest month so far and the start of June too. The past 2 days have seen the mercury creep over 22c in parts but cooler weather is on the way in the short term.


For 25c try the end of July maybe. More on this in the next blog.