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Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
# Brrr
March was coldest in decades in many parts of Ireland
Last month Met Éireann recorded record low temperatures and some stations reported it as the wettest month in five years.
NOT THAT WE need reminding, but MET Éireann has said today that March this year was the coldest in decades with mean temperatures the lowest on record nearly everywhere.
Dublin Airport reported a mean temperature of 3.1°C, its coldest March since the site opened in 1942 while Claremorris and Mullingar also reported their coldest March on record since opening in 1950.
The majority of weather of stations in the south and southwest of the country reported their coldest March in about 50 years. All mean maximum and minimum temperatures were below average, with highest maximum temperatures in parts of the east, south and north the lowest recorded.
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Rainfall was on or above average in the east, southeast and in parts of the south, with most in the area reporting it as their wettest March in five to seven years. Long-term average (LTA) rainfall was nearly double at Phoenix Park in Dublin with 97.1 mm, the weather station’s wettest March since 2008, while Cork Airport reported 138 per cent of its LTA and its wettest March in 17 years.
Both of these stations attributed over a fifth of their monthly rainfall totals to the heavy rain on 21 or 22 March. Stations along the Atlantic coast and in the midlands reported below average rainfall with most areas reporting less than 50 per cent their LTAs. Shannon Airport and Newport both reported just over a third of their LTA rainfall for the month with totals of 28.3 mm and 53.4 mm, respectively, their driest Marchs since 1950 and 1961.
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Sunshine totals were on or above average in the west and southwest and below average elsewhere, with Dublin stations reporting around 60 per cent their LTA sunshine and their dullest Marchs in 17 years.
Read: Explainer: Is global warming causing harsher winters (and springs)?>
Read: Look! Quick! It’s not raining ANYWHERE in Ireland right now>
