Climate of Ireland

The climate of Ireland is mild, humid and changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes.

As Ireland is downwind of a large ocean, it is considerably milder in winter than other locations at the same latitude, for example Newfoundland in Canada or Sakhalin in Russia.

Atlantic depressions, occurring mainly in the months of December, January and February, can occasionally bring winds of up to 160 km/h or 99 mph to Western coastal counties, with the winter of 2013/14 being the stormiest on record.

There is regional variation, with inland areas being cooler in winter and warmer in summer than their coastal counterparts.

Rosslare, County Wexford was historically the sunniest area, however, the station was closed by Met Éireann in 2007.

[23] The sunniest station throughout the 1981 to 2010 period was Ballyrichard HSE in Arklow, County Wicklow, which received an average of 4.41 hours of sunshine per day.

Over the 1971-2000 averaging period, Claremorris, County Mayo was the cloudiest station, receiving just 1,072 hours of sunshine per year.

Rainfall in Ireland normally comes from Atlantic frontal systems which travel northeast over the island, bringing cloud and rain.

The wettest weather station is Glanagimla, Leenane, Co. Galway, which averages 2,874.59 mm (113.17 in) rain per year.

[28][not specific enough to verify] The wettest synoptic weather station is Valentia Island, which receives 1,430.1 mm (56.30 in) of rain per year, on average.

[29] The driest weather station is at Ringsend, Co. Dublin, which receives 683 mm (26.89 in) of rain per year, on average.

[21] Source:[31] Severe cold weather is uncommon in Ireland with the majority of winter precipitation coming in the form of rain, although hills and mountainous regions in the country can commonly see up to 30 days of snowfall annually: the Wicklow Mountains region sometimes experiences 50 or more days of snowfall each year.

In late 2011, the Irish Government set up "Winter-Ready", in order to prepare the country for such severe weather.

The snowiest weather station is Clones, County Monaghan, which receives, on average, 18 days of snow and/or sleet per year.

[33] The least snowy weather station is Valentia Island, County Kerry; which receives, on average, 5.6 days of snow and/or sleet per year.

The station with the highest mean wind speed is Malin Head, County Donegal, averaging at 16.3 kn (30.2 km/h; 18.8 mph).

[37] The highest wind speed ever recorded in Ireland was 103 kn (191 km/h; 119 mph) at Fastnet Lighthouse, County Cork on 16 October 2017.

[38] Fog is more common inland and on higher altitudes; mainly during winter and during the morning at times of high pressure.

[29] Visibility is generally very good, because of the proximity of industry to the coast, allowing breezes to disperse any smog.