Normally in October, as at any time of year, the winds over Ireland are predominantly westerly, and therefore relatively mild. But not of late.
The reason for the cold snap could be seen on any weather map. The icy, northerly air-flow originated over the already frozen wastes of northern Scandinavia; such meagre warmth as the nethermost layers of the atmosphere acquired from the waters over which they flowed, served merely to introduce an element of instability - making the air bubble upwards to generate heavy showers, thunderstorms and hail. The general ambience was still cold enough for many of these showers to fall as snow.
However, this was no pay-back for a warm summer and several months with comparatively little rain. Nature harbours no urge for retribution, and has no compulsion to restore the average at any cost. While the recent weather might be called unusual, it was not rare enough to be considered freakish. At any given place in the middle or east of Ireland, snow falls in October in about one year in 10; and although sub-zero air temperatures were recorded in the depths of recent nights, they were a long way from the -8.3 degrees recorded in Co Sligo in late October, 1926.
October often bring hints of the rigours of advancing winter.
It can offer stern reminders that life can never be just one long summer. October, considered as a symptom, indicates an irreversible seasonal decline to which the only antidote is Spring.