Heavens above: Kerry sees wettest October day in 77 years

Poor old Kerry. Healy-Rae country bucked the trend in October and saw record-breaking rainfall, according to new figures published by Met Éireann on Wednesday.

The majority of Ireland had its driest October in a number of years but in the south west God seemingly was having a joke with the county's most famous son and TD, Danny Healy-Rae.

During a debate on climate change in May, Mr Healy-Rae famously told the Dáil that there had been patterns of climate change going back over centuries, “before there was ever a combustible engine working in this or any other countries.

“God above is in charge of the weather and we here can’t do anything about it,” he told the debate.

We can’t confirm a connection, but the heavens certainly opened in Kerry last month, where the wettest October day in 77 years was recorded.

The latest monthly weather statistics showed most parts of the country recorded less than half their normal rainfall for the month with reports of “extremely dry” weather in places. More than two-thirds of the areas reported their driest conditions in a number of years.

Belmullet in Co Mayo reported its driest October in 60 years and Shannon Airport in Co Clare broke its dry weather record for the last 51 years.

Only 27.9mm of rain was recorded for the month in Fermoy, Co Cork, which meant it was its driest October since 1970.

However, there was only one weather station nationwide to report above average rainfall for month- Valentia Observatory in Co Kerry, where rainfall was 105 per cent of the average October figure. Elsewhere in the country rainfall was below average for the month. For example in Sligo, rainfall was only 22 per cent of average and most stations reported less than half their normal rainfall.

Valentia recorded its wettest October day in 77 years when on October 3rd the rainfall reached 105.5mm. It was also its wettest day for any month since 1980 for the area.

The report stated the weather over Ireland for the month was “quite settled” due to anticyclonic conditions coming from Scandinavia.

The sunniest spot in the country for the month was Dublin Airport with a daily mean of sunshine for 3.5 hours a day.

Both Dublin Airport and Malin Head in Co Donegal recorded the most sunshine in one day on October 2nd with 9.7 hours.

The dullest area was Knock Airport in Co Mayo with the lowest monthly total and daily mean of 2.4 hours of sunshine daily.

The temperatures almost everywhere were on or above average. Markree in Co Sligo and Mount Dillon in Co Roscommon were the only two areas to fall below the mean air temperatures with with -0.1 and -0.2 degrees respectively.

The long-term averages are compiled from average monthly totals recorded from 1981-2010.

It was hottest in Shannon Airport with a highest maximum on October 5th of 18.3 degrees, while Sherkin Island in Co Cork had the months highest mean temperature at 12.4 degrees.

The mean wind speeds during the month were “generally low” due to the predominance of high pressure conditions.