Wettest August for 170 years, says Met Éireann

IT WAS the wettest August in parts of the country for more than 170 years, according to figures released by Met Éireann.

The heavy rain last month led to flooding in many areas and misery for those hoping for late summer sunshine.

It is the second summer in a row where rainfall totals have broken records, the Met service said yesterday.

The culprit was low pressure close to or over Ireland, which brought a succession of Atlantic frontal systems across the country, giving seemingly endless significant falls of rain throughout the month.

It was the wettest August at Dublin's Phoenix Park weather station, where rainfall records began 171 years ago in 1837.

Birr, Co Offaly had its wettest August since 1917, while Dublin airport had both its highest monthly total (190mm) and highest one-day fall (76.2mm on the 9th) for August since the station opened in 1941.

In Shannon, Co Clare, a 60-minute fall of 38.4 millimetres of rain on August 6th was the highest for any month in the station's 63-year history, according to the metrological service data.

The number of wet days (days with 1 millimetres or more of rain) recorded during the month was also well above normal. There were between 14 and 21 wet days at most stations last month compared with the August average number of between 10 and 14.

Mean air temperatures for the month were between half a degree and one degree higher than normal generally, Met Éireann said.

However, over the west and north of the country, the temperature did not rise above 20 degrees on any day during the month.

The highest temperature of the month was 23.9 degrees, recorded at Cork airport on the 28th. The lowest air temperature of 7 degrees was recorded at Dublin airport on the 13th.

Not surprisingly, August sunshine totals were exceptionally low, with between 20 and 40 per cent less sunshine than normal at all stations. Totals of between 70 and 110 hours of sunshine are normal for October rather than August.

It was the dullest August on record at weather recording stations in Dublin. It has been the second successive summer where rainfall totals were above normal everywhere.

Dublin airport had its wettest summer since 1958, while it was the wettest at Cork airport since records began there in 1962.

A daily rainfall total of 90mm was recorded at Castlemahon, Co Limerick, on July 31st, while 100mm was measured in Belderrig, Co Mayo, on August 13th.

Dublin airport's rainfall of 76mm on August 9th was its highest daily fall for summer since June 1993.

Rainfall was recorded over some parts of the country on each day between July 28th and August 21st.

A total of between 42 and 48 wet days were recorded at most stations for June, July and August, compared to the normal summer range of between 32 and 38 wet days.

It was also the coolest summer since 2002 in many places, while sunshine totals for the season were below normal almost everywhere and were well below normal in the east and south.

Almost all stations recorded their sunniest day of the season between June 5th and 7th, according to the Met Éireann figures.