Irish Weather Thread

[JD47]

Thats pretty shit news.

[Catmalojin]

Not something you see every day!

Radar Animation of the Bray Waterspout
16 April 2012

On Saturday April 14th many people in south Dublin and north Wicklow were awoken by the sound of thunder and hail rattling the windowpanes. Some caught sight of an even more exotic weather phenomenon; a waterspout off Bray Head which appeared to have tornadic characteristics. Such waterspouts are usually associated with very intense thundery showers. The high-resolution imagery from Met Eireann’s weather radar, located at Dublin Airport, clearly shows the path and intensity of the thunderstorm as it moved inland over Bray and followed the track of the N11, becoming very intense for a short time near Newtownmountkennedy before gradually weakening as it moved on into southern Wicklow. The storm cloud retained enough energy to produce hail and thunder right down into southern Wexford before it finally cleared away off the southeast coast.



Met Éireann

[odlum833]

Video of that waterspout/tornado in Bray

[JD47]

That is a bit scary. Is the world coming to an end I wonder. Maybe all this 2012 crap is right and something will happen. As long as its after the Euro's then I dont care to be honest.

[Catmalojin]

April 2012: Colder than Average Everywhere, Wet in most Places
02 May 2012

The full report is here >>>>>>>>

Rainfall was above average nearly everywhere, with the exception of Malin Head, which reported around 80% of its long-term average and its driest April since 2007 (5 years). In contrast, most stations in the east recorded percentage of normals over 170% and reported their wettest April since 1998 (14 years). This month, stations in the Dublin area attributed nearly a quarter of their April rainfall totals to heavy showers on the 25th. Dublin Airport and Casement Aerodrome reported falls of 21.3 mm and 22.5 mm respectively, their highest daily rainfalls recorded at the sites during April since 2002 (10 years).

Mean temperatures for April were all below average, with departures from normal up to 1°C in parts of the southwest and midlands. Most mean air temperatures this month were reported to be the lowest in at least 11 to 23 years, countrywide. Maximum air temperatures recorded were also the lowest in a number of years, with stations reporting their lowest maximums in eight to 26 years and Casement Aerodrome’s maximum temperature of 13.1°C, reported as its lowest maximum since the station opened in 1964 (48 years). Minimum air temperatures were below average, with many minimums measured in the west and southwest reported as the lowest since 2006 (6 years). Grass minimum temperatures at Cork and Shannon Airport were the lowest in six and 12 years respectively, with both sites reporting the number of days with ground frost to be nearly 50% above their April normal.

Sunshine totals were above normal everywhere with the highest percentage of normal received in the west and southwest. Belmullet reported it was its sunniest April since 1974 (38 years), while stations in the Dublin area reported percentages above normal but still reported it was the dullest.

Met Éireann

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[odlum833]

Over 28c at Shannon Airport today.

[Catmalojin]

South will benefit most as fine weather to last through weekend

RONAN McGREEVY

Tue, May 29, 2012


Sunrise over Sandycove in south Dublin yesterday as the fine weather continued. Photograph: John Fahy

THE SOUTHERN half of the country, below the imaginary line stretching from Dublin to Galway, is set to enjoy the warmest weather this week, according to forecasters.

Many parts of the country have already enjoyed a week of near unbroken sunshine. Yesterday was another warm day in many places, but there were huge contrasts between north and south.

Finner Camp in Co Donegal recorded a high of 24.1 degrees, but Cork Airport, where it was raining, had a miserable 13.1 degrees.

The west and the north received the best of the good weather over the last week.

The good news is that most of the country can look forward to a good deal of dry weather up to and including the bank holiday weekend.

Tomorrow will be cloudy across Ulster and parts of Leinster and there will be rain, but it will be brighter farther south and temperatures will be more than pleasant at 17-21 degrees.

The forecast is for the warm and mainly dry weather to return on Thursday and for it to stay that way across the country until the start of next week.

The temperatures, though, will not be as high as of late. There will still be highs of 21 degrees, and it will feel very pleasant and sunny.

A northerly breeze will keep temperatures on the cool side along northern coasts.

“There’s an imaginary line between Dublin and Galway and below that should have the warmest temperatures,” said Met Éireann forecaster Eoin Sherlock.

This will be good news for all the weather-dependent events taking place next weekend, most notably Bloom in the Phoenix Park, Forbidden Fruit festival in Kilmainham and Bavaria City Racing around the streets of Dublin on Sunday.

Ardfert in Co Kerry recorded a temperature of 28.3 degrees last Friday, the third-highest temperature ever recorded in Ireland in May. Shannon Airport recorded its highest May temperature of 27.8 degrees last Friday.

However, the full-month statistics for May are unlikely to show it as an exceptional month, given that the first fortnight was cold and windy.

Tomorrow, Met Éireann will make its long-term averages available for the period between 1981 and 2010. These should give some indication of the impact of climate change on the Irish weather.

© 2012 The Irish Times

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[Catmalojin]

Brilliant gallery on the RTÉ website showing the recent good weather here.

[Catmalojin]

Met Éireann to use new climate averages for Ireland
Updated: 19:49, Wednesday, 30 May 2012

Met Éireann has produced a new, more recent set of climate averages for Ireland.

The averages will be used from now on for day-to-day weather comparisons.

The data shows that Ireland's climate was half a degree warmer over the more recent 30-year period compared with the previous period.

Met Éireann said it was a significant rise in temperature.

Up until now the period 1961-1990 had been used to tell if the weather is wetter or warmer than average.

From now on, the period 1981 to 2010 will be used.

The data also shows a 5% increase in annual average rainfall, but conclusions cannot be drawn from that because of variability in weather.

It found Dublin to be one of the driest parts of the country, the west is the wettest, and the southeast is the sunniest.

Met Éireann says the data will be useful to planners involved in agriculture, infrastructure and water supplies.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0530/met...-averages.html

From the Met Éireann site:

New Long-Term Climate Averages for Ireland
30 May 2012

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recommends that climate averages are computed over a 30 year period of consecutive records. The period of 30 years is considered long enough to smooth out year to year variations. Henceforth Met Éireann will reference 1981 to 2010 as the baseline period for day-to-day weather and climate comparisons. The current WMO global baseline period for use in climate change research is 1961-1990.

A Long-Term Average Period (or Climatological Normal) is a period of thirty consecutive years, beginning in the first year of a decade, 1951-1980, 1961-1990, 1971-2000, 1981-2010.

At present, comparisons are made to the 1961-1990 long-term average.

There is a need for up to date datasets that reflect the ‘current climate’.

Met Éireann has produced a suite of long-term averages covering the 1981-2010 period

From the end of May 2012 these ‘new’ long-term averages will be used for day-to-day comparisons.



How are the averages Calculated?

Readings at weather stations are averaged for each month over a 30 year period.

Where there are gaps, estimates are made from a combination of data from neighbouring stations.

Long-term averages for stations are then used to generate maps and gridded data at 1km resolution.

1981-2010 Rainfall

• The driest months are from April to June
• The wettest months are from October-January
• The driest seasons are spring and summer
• Highest rainfall occurs in the Western half of the country and on higher ground

1981-2010 Temperature

• The coldest months are January and February, followed by December
• The warmest is July followed by August and June
• Summer is the warmest season followed by Autumn, Spring and Winter
• The mean annual temperature is 9-10ºC, highest in coastal areas

>>>>> The new data is available here >>>>

[thebig C]

Thanks Catmalojin. Interesting stuff!

[thebig C]

Originally Posted by Catmalojin

Brilliant gallery on the RTÉ website showing the recent good weather here.

Isn't it great that hot girls seem to come out of the woodwork with warm weather!!

[JD47]

Great pics Catmalojin. Cheers for the link mate.

[JD47]

Originally Posted by thebig C

Isn't it great that hot girls seem to come out of the woodwork with warm weather!!

Never forget to bring your sun glasses to the beach C

[thebig C]

Originally Posted by JD47

Never forget to bring your sun glasses to the beach C

Haha I wear them ALL the time

[JD47]

Originally Posted by thebig C

Haha I wear them ALL the time

Thats a man's number one rule when it comes to the beach and the sun. Forget sun cream its the glasses that I need when going to the beach.

[Catmalojin]

Spring figures show Belmullet sunniest place, Cork the dullest

ROWAN GALLAGHER

Sat, Jun 02, 2012

BELMULLET WAS the best place for sunshine this spring and Cork the worst, according to the March-May weather statistics released by Met Éireann yesterday.

Belmullet had 533.4 hours of sunshine, while Cork had only 443.9 during its dullest spring since 2006.

The warmest day of the spring was recorded at Shannon Airport on May 25th when the temperature reached 27.8 degrees. The following day’s 15.6 hours of sunshine at Shannon was the sunniest day of the Irish spring, and equalled the spring sunshine record at Shannon since the opening of the station in 1938.

The second-highest temperature recorded was in Claremorris at 25.6 degrees.

Rainfall totals were below normal for spring, except at some stations along the east coast. March and May had below average rainfall nearly everywhere, with April having wet conditions nearly everywhere except in the north.

Despite above average spring sunshine in most parts, weather stations in the south and east reported it as the dullest spring in more than six years.

Cold weather at the start of May brought the lowest recorded temperatures for the month in a number of years, especially along the east coast. Lowest minimum temperatures reported in parts of the Dublin area on May 6th were below minus 3 degrees, the lowest in 48 years for the same period.

Cork Airport and Valentia observatory reported their driest springs since 2000 and 1997 respectively, while Malin Head in the northwest reported its driest spring since 2001. Dublin stations received up to 115 per cent of their long-term averages for rainfall.

The spring’s highest daily fall of 29.7mm was recorded on May 1st at Casement Aerodrome, southwest of Dublin, the highest spring fall at the station since 2002.

© 2012 The Irish Times

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[Catmalojin]

Earthquake reported off coast of Mayo
Updated: 11:30, Wednesday, 6 June 2012

The British Geological Survey has confirmed a magnitude 4 earthquake off the west coast of Ireland.

It occurred shortly before 9am, 60km off the Mayo coast.

A spokesperson for the British Geological Survey said it was a "rare and unusual" event.

But he said that it has happened before and added that around 200 small earthquakes happen around Ireland every year.

Locals in a number of areas on the west coast reported feeling earth tremors this morning.

There have been reports of some structural damage but this has not been confirmed.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0606/ear...t-of-mayo.html

...

[Catmalojin]

Summer 2012.

Weather Warning

Issued at 07 June 2012 - 01:47
Weather Warning

Today, Thursday, rainfall accumulations of 25 to 45mm will occur widely in Leinster and Ulster. In Connaught and Munster higher accumulations of 35 to 60mm will occur, and some mountainous regions in these provinces are likely to record 60 to 90mm.

Strong winds will be a feature of today's weather also. East to northeast winds will reach gale force for a time in parts of Leinster and Ulster. In many parts of Connaught and Munster, north to northwest gales will occur by afternoon and gusts as high as 110 km/hr may be experienced locally, especially coastal locations.

Additionally, any coastal areas experiencing onshore winds around times of high tide will be prone to overtopping by the sea.

Issued 0200/07-06-2012

Updates will follow as necessary.

Met Éireann issues weather warning as heavy rain forecast
Updated: 10:30, Thursday, 7 June 2012

Met Éireann has issued a weather warning with heavy rainfall forecast across the country over the next two days.

Meteorologist Gerald Fleming said that the forecast is for "a month's rain in two days".

Munster and Connacht are to be the worst affected with up to 60mm of rainfall expected.

Between 30mm and 50mm of rain is forecast to fall in Leinster and Ulster.

The Road Safety Authority is advising all road users to take extra care and the Coast Guard is warning of dangerous conditions.

The RSA warns there will be excess water on the roads and flooding in places.

CEO Noel Brett said the recent dry weather could make roads particularly hazardous, as the resulting build-up of rubber and oil deposits combined with rainwater can increase the risk of skidding.

"The kind of things people need to be aware of are spray from other vehicles, particularly when you are driving close to or overtaking buses and large vehicles," Mr Brett said.

"You need to keep well back from those vehicles, so you're not blinded by spray.

"The other issue then we face, after this reasonable period of fine weather, is the build-up of rubber, oil and grime on the road and when we get heavy rain like is forecast, that actually makes roads very, very greasy and very, very grimy and the risk of skidding in these kind of conditions are significantly increased."

The Coast Guard says the combination of tides, high winds and swollen rivers may lead to dangerous conditions.

It is urging people not to cross fast running rivers or floodwater fords and to be aware of hazards in urban areas including submerged manholes and downed power lines.

People should stay away from the shoreline and not engage in watersports.

Send your weather photos to: yourphotos@rte.ie

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0607/wea...se-floods.html

[JD47]

Finally life is back to normal. Rain rain and even more rain.

[Catmalojin]

From Met Éireann:

4.0 Magnitude Earthquake off the coast of Co. Mayo
07 June 2012

On June 6th, 2012, at 07:58:13.9 UTC a moderate earthquake Mag 4.0 occurred in the Atlantic Ocean at location 54.151 -10.904, 100 km off Belmullet in Co Mayo.

There have been several reports from people having felt this event this event. The Mayo Earthquake was analysed at Met Eireann's Seismic monitoring station at Valentia Observatory, Caherciveen, Co. Kerry. The Seismology Station at Valentia is part of the Irish Seismic Network. From the analysis of the event the P wave took approximately 38 seconds to reach the Met Eireann facility at 07:58:51.71 UTC with the S wave occurring at 07:59:26.93 UTC. This part of Ireland is not known for Seismic activity and an event of this size is unusual for Ireland. The biggest earthquake felt in Ireland occurred on the 19th July, 1984 with a Mag 5.4, and was located off the coast of Wales.

More information on this earthquake can be found at http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/....php?id=272042


Fig.1: The anaylsed earthquake showing the P and S waves


Fig 2: Seismic trace at Vealentia, June 7, 2012