Irish Weather Thread

[Catmalojin]

Pretty cool!

Unique Triple Rainbow observed at Shannon Airport
23 November 2012

The following picture was taken at 9.30 this morning (November 23, 2012) at Shannon Airport by Meteorological Officer Shane Egan of the quite rare phenomenon of a reflection rainbow, in association with a more commonly seen double rainbow.

The picture was taken as a large cumulonimbus cloud approached from the Southwest. The double rainbow comprises the primary bow with a concentric secondary bow. As is the norm the secondary rainbow is caused by a second reflection of sunlight within the raindrops with the result that the colour sequence is inverted compared to the primary bow.

What makes the picture unusual is the presence of a faint but still clearly visible third bow at an angle to the other two. This is known as a reflection bow produced by sunlight reflecting upwards from a calm body of water before reaching the raindrops. The water body needs to be large, quiet over its entire surface, and close to the rain curtain. In this case the body of water was the Shannon estuary. The colour sequence of this bow is the same as that of the primary bow.

A higher resolution image is available here (3MB). >>>>>>>>

[JD47]

Whats going on? I thought we were supposed to get snow. That weatherman said it. I was hoping for snow in early December. I wouldn't like it at Christmas but just before Christmas would be great.

[Rapter]

Well, in Clare/Limerick areas there was quite a lot of frost this morning, tomorrow might even be colder

[Catmalojin]

Severe weather due as temperatures plunge

RONAN McGREEVY

Mon, Dec 10, 2012

Severe weather conditions are expected over the first half of this week with plummeting night-time temperatures.

Temperatures last night were down to as low as minus 4 degrees as a cold snap arrived from the northeast.

The weather will bring the threat of ice and black ice for motorists but snow is unlikely.

Met Éireann forecaster John Eagleton said clear skies will account for low temperatures at night everywhere.

Temperatures will struggle to get above 5 degrees today and it will be followed by another freezing night with temperatures of minus 3 degrees.

Tomorrow will be cold and dry though it may be wilder and wetter along the Cork and Kerry coasts. The cold weather will continue until Wednesday with a change towards damp weather towards the end of the week.

The wind direction means snow is unlikely.

“We think at this stage it will be generally dry. There is no indication on our models that snow will happen,” said Mr Eagleton.

He said there was no indication either on the forecast models for a prolonged cold snap in the run-up to Christmas as there was in 2009 and 2010.

Ireland has so far being spared the bad weather that affected the UK last week and caused the closure of Stansted and Luton airports for a time.

However, the Road Safety Authority has warned motorists to take additional care this week. It said black ice on roads poses dangers and freezing fog will also be a problem.

© 2012 The Irish Times

...

[Dvblvnia]

Absolutely freezing today with a very hard frost which didn't fully lift the whole day. First really properly cold and wintry day. We could get our first snow in the next week if this trend keeps up!

[JD47]

Your man just said he doesn't think there will be snow though. I doubt we will have snow to be honest Dvblvnia mate. I wouldn't mind a bit of snow though.

[Catmalojin]

From Met Éireann:

Weather Warning

Issued at 13 December 2012 - 15:38
Weather Advisory
Very high tides, low pressure and onshore southeast gales with possible rainfall of 20 to 25mm gives potential for coastal flooding on parts of the south and east coasts especially later tonight and tomorrow morning.

Valid 0000 to 1500hrs Friday 14/12/2012

Flood warning as heavy rain expected in Cork
Updated: 22:01, Thursday, 13 December 2012

Cork City Council has advised home and business owners to take steps to protect their properties, after issuing a flood warning for parts of the city centre over the next four days.

The risk is said to be greatest at high tide tomorrow morning.

A number of factors are expected to combine to cause tidal flooding on several streets.

These include a high tide, a low pressure area, heavy rain and southeasterly winds.

Met Éireann says it expects rainfall of around 25mm between 5pm this evening and 9am tomorrow.

Southeasterly winds, which are a contributory factor to flooding in Cork city, are expected to reach gale force.

A tidal surge is also expected to result in flood water on a number of streets.
It is not known at this stage if flood waters will rise to the extent that buildings will be flooded too.

Cork City Council says the areas at risk of flooding include South Terrace, Trinity Bridge, Georges Quay, Cotter Street, Stable Lane, Union Quay, Morrisons Quay, Proby's Quay, French's Quay, Crosses Green, Sharman Crawford Street, Wandesford Quay, Lavitts Quay, Kyrl's Street and Kyrl's Quay, Coal Quay, South Mall, Oliver Plunkett Street, Pembroke Street, Prince's Street, Marlborough Street, Cook Street, Winthrop Street, Kennedy Quay, Centre Park Road and Monahan Road.

Separately, Cork County Council has warned that very high spring tides may cause flooding in coastal parts of the county at times between now and next Tuesday.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1213/flood-warning.html

[Catmalojin]

Weather Warning

Issued at 27 December 2012 - 21:37
Wind Warning

Gale force south to southwest winds developing during Friday with gusts of 90 or 100km/hr in exposed areas, but more severe gusts of 100 to 140km/hr are expected, for a time, in the late afternoon and evening, highest in exposed parts of Connacht and Donegal.

Valid 0900hrs Friday to 0300hrs Saturday

Met Éireann

Met Éireann warns of strong winds of up to 140km/h

Fri, Dec 28, 2012

Strong winds tonight could cause some damage to property, particularly along the west coast, Met Éireann has warned.

Meteorologist John Eagleton said gusts of up to 140km/h were likely, although they won’t be regular.

“I’d say there’s the possibility of some electric poles falling and I’d say more trees will come down,” he said. “If you’ve a loose chimney or slates, they might be worth keeping an eye on.”

The worst of the winds will hit between 6pm and 9pm, and should have mostly died out by midnight.

“It will be a windy day and then there will be a strengthening of those winds tomorrow evening. It won’t be a great day for playing golf – it will just be a bit uncomfortable – but later in the evening it will get worse. We will get a blast around the evening time and I wouldn’t like to be sailing a boat along the west coast during those hours.”

The winds will be south to southwest. The southeast will be the least affected, while the worst hit will be Connacht, the northwest of Ulster, and north Leinster. “If you draw a line from Limerick to Dundalk, the north of it will be worst hit,” he said. Wet and windy conditions are expected for for the new year’s holiday.

© 2012 The Irish Times

...

[Catmalojin]

Annual Weather Summary 2012 and Weather Summary for December 2012
02 January 2013

2012 Annual Weather Summary: Very wet and cold at times.
The first three months of the year and August reported above average mean temperatures, with remaining months of the year reporting colder than normal conditions in most places.

The full report is here >>>>>

December 2012: Warm in parts; wet and windy and times.
Rainfall was above average in Western half of the country with below average rainfall totals recorded in parts of the Midlands, East and North.

The full report is here >>>>>

From the annual report:

EXTREME VALUES AT SYNOPTIC STATIONS AND CLIMATE STATIONS

Rainfall
Highest annual total: 1529.6 mm at Newport
Lowest annual total: 836 mm at Carlow (Oak Park)
Highest daily rainfall*: 99.5 mm at Lough Glencar, Co.Leitrim on June 8th (its highest annual daily fall on record since 1993)

Temperature
Highest mean annual temperature: 11.0°C at Sherkin Island and Valentia Observatory
Lowest mean annual temperature: 8.7°C at Knock Airport (its coolest year since 2001)
Highest air temperature*: 28.3°C at Ardfert (Liscahane), Co. Kerry on May 25th (its highest annual maximum since 2006)
Lowest air temperature*: -6.7°C at Thomastown (Mt. Juliet), Co. Kilkenny on Feb 2nd, Carrickmacross (Dunoge), Co. Monaghan Feb 3rd
Lowest grass minimum temperature*: -12.2°C at Derrygreenagh, Co. Offaly on Feb 2nd

Sunshine
Highest annual total: 1447.4 hours at Dublin Airport (its dullest year since 2005)
Lowest annual total: 1095.1 hours at Valentia Observatory (its dullest year since 1983)
Highest daily sunshine: 15.7 hours at Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal May 27th (equalling its highest daily sunshine since 1988)

* From current available data from all stations (climate, rainfall and synoptic)

[Catmalojin]

Motorists warned over icy conditions on roads

JOANNE HUNT

Mon, Jan 14, 2013


Cyclists cycling through snow flurries in the Sally Gap, Co Wicklow, yesterday. Photograph: Garry O'Neill

Motorists are advised to exercise extreme caution from this morning with icy roads predicted and snowfalls in the east likely from Wednesday.

Yesterday afternoon saw outbreaks of sleet over Leinster and Munster. With daytime temperatures of just 2 to 4 degrees in the east, snow flurries were reported around Maynooth, Lucan and Celbridge, with some accumulations over higher ground.

As rain and sleet spread down from the north last night, followed by clearer skies and a drop in temperatures to -2 degrees, Met Éireann has warned morning commuters to take care.

“Certainly there is a need for extreme caution on roads,” said forecaster Joanna Donnelly. “Light rain might have fallen on already frozen surfaces, which is extremely dangerous.”

Today and tomorrow will be cold, bright, showery and blustery with highest temperatures of 4 to 8 degrees. But things will turn colder again from Wednesday.

In northeasterly winds, daytime temperatures will hover between 2 to 4 degrees with severe frosts at night.

Snow likely

“From Wednesday onwards along the coastal counties of Leinster, the northeasterly winds will bring wintry showers off the Irish Sea with a likelihood of falls of snow of several centimetres from these showers,” according to forecasts.

“Temperatures are staying very low for the next few days so there will be further frosty conditions on the roads, and on untreated roads in particular for the coming nights,” said Ms Donnelly.

The cold snap is expected to end by the weekend, however, when a slight rise in temperatures is expected.

Cloud will start to increase over the country, bringing outbreaks of rain to most places.

© 2013 The Irish Times

...

[Catmalojin]

National Weather Warnings

STATUS ORANGE

Wind Warning for Munster, Leinster, Connacht, Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan

Extremely windy with some severe, possibly damaging gusts. Strong to gale force westerly winds will produce gusts of 110 to 130 km/h in Connacht and Donegal, while in Munster, Leinster, Cavan and Monaghan gusts of 90 to 110 km/h are expected.

After dark, heavy wintry showers of hail, sleet and snow will develop at first in the north of the country, but during the night they will become more widespread and produce some accumulations of snow, in particular on high ground but also at lower levels. The very strong winds and snow showers will produce some blizzard like conditions especially on higher ground, with icy patches at all levels.

The wintry showers will turn to rain showers on Tuesday afternoon as temperatures increase.

Issued: 04 February 2013 10:00
Valid: 04 February 2013 10:00 to 05 February 2013 12:00

...

[odlum833]

Snowing here atm in North Dublin.

[JD47]

Yeah there was a bit of snow here. Not much and not sticking.

[Dvblvnia]

Same here in West Dublin - light snow and a bit of graupel but nothing has stuck except for a bit on a garden table.

[Catmalojin]

From Met Éireann's seasonal report for Winter 2012-2013:

EXTREME SEASONAL VALUES AT SYNOPTIC STATIONS

Rainfall
Highest seasonal total: 528.3 mm at Valentia Observatory (its wettest Winter since 2007)
Lowest seasonal total: 161.5mm at Casement Aerodrome
Highest daily rainfall*: 42.6 mm at Valentia Observatory on January 7th

Temperature
Highest mean seasonal temperature: 7.8°C at Sherkin Island
Lowest mean seasonal temperature: 4.2°C at Knock Airport
Highest temperature*: 15.0°C at Piltown, Co. Kilkenny on December 22nd
Lowest air temperature*: -7.0°C at Markree on February 25th
Lowest grass minimum temperature*: -12.5°C at Markree on February 25th

Sunshine
Highest seasonal total: 185.6 hours at Belmullet
Lowest seasonal total: 119.1 hours at Knock Airport
Highest daily sunshine*: 9.9 hours at Knock Airport on February 25th (its highest for Winter since 1996)

* From all current available data from rainfall, climate and synoptic stations.

[odlum833]

Very cold with snow for Dublin and east coast Sunday night and Monday apparently.

[Catmalojin]

Looks like it's gonna be pretty cold, alright!

Snow and ice on the way
By PLOGUE
Last Updated: Saturday, March 9, 2013, 17:34



Spring might already have arrived and you may even have cut the lawn, but don’t put away the hat and scarf just yet - winter is set to have its final say.

Forecasters have warned of snow and sub zero temperatures starting tomorrow and continuing into next week.

The east of Leinster should expect a “dusting of snow”, according to Met Eireann who say temperatures will fall to minus four degrees Celsius overnight tomorrow.

On Monday, another extremetly cold day is forecast with some wintry showers continuing to feed into Leinster, Munster and east Ulster.

There will be some snow accumulations on lower levels, but amounts will be fairly small, the national forecaster added.

With temperatures falling as low as -6 degrees, a severe frost is expected on Monday night.

Tuesday will also be cold, while temperatures will rise slightly by Wednesday.

© 2013 irishtimes.com

[Catmalojin]

From Met Éireann:

National Weather Warnings

STATUS ORANGE

Snow-ice Warning for Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow, Meath, Donegal, Mayo, Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford.

Scattered snow showers this evening, tonight and on Monday will give accumulations of between 3 and 8 cm.

Snow will lie at lower levels as well as on high ground. Amounts will be highest in coastal counties of Leinster.

Fresh to strong, gusty northeast winds will make for blizzard conditions in places during snow showers. A widespread sharp or severe frost tonight, lingering in many areas tomorrow.

Issued: 10 March 2013 12:00
Valid: 10 March 2013 18:00 to 11 March 2013 18:00

Severe cold snap forecast across country
Updated: 17:12, Sunday, 10 March 2013


Snow and strong winds forecast (Pic: Jonathan McCarthy)

Met Éireann has issued a weather warning with snow and strong winds forecast for many areas of the country overnight.

Temperatures are expected to fall to around -5C tonight with ground temperatures as low as -10C possible tomorrow night.

A snow and ice warning has been issued for parts of Leinster, Connacht and Munster.

Between 3cm and 8cm of snow is forecast with the highest accumulations in coastal counties of Leinster.

Blizzard conditions are also likely and a severe frost will be widespread.

AA Roadwatch has warned that road conditions may be poor tomorrow and urged motorists to drive with caution.

The snow and ice warning is issued for Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow, Meath, Donegal, Mayo, Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Waterford.

The cold weather is expected to continue until at least Thursday.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0310/375...ather-warning/

[JD47]

We always get the weather wrong. I bet you €10 that there wont be any snow when we wake up tomorrow.

[Catmalojin]

From Met Éireann:

National Weather Warnings

STATUS YELLOW

Low Temperature Warning for Munster, Leinster, Connacht, Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan.

Abnormally low temperatures, combined with strong winds today, will cause severe wind chill. Scattered snow showers will affect Leinster and eastern parts of Ulster and Munster for a time also.

Issued: 11 March 2013 09:00
Valid: 11 March 2013 09:00 to 11 March 2013 21:00

Snow and ice causing difficult driving conditions, four flights cancelled from Dublin Airport
Updated: 09:55, Monday, 11 March 2013


Motorists urged to drive with care following high winds and snow overnight

Met Éireann has issued a weather warning for more than 12 counties.

Motorists are being urged to be careful of trees that may have fallen as a result of high winds and debris on the roads.

Temperatures dipped to -4C in some areas overnight.

Four flights have been cancelled at Dublin Airport due to adverse conditions.

A spokesperson for the airport says a number of flights have been diverted, and others are experiencing some delays.

The Dublin Airport Authority said a snow and ice plan is under way and passengers are advised to consult the airline’s website.

Irish Ferries has cancelled its Swift sailings due to the conditions, but passengers will be accommodated on its cruise ferry.

Stena has also cancelled its 9am Rosslare to Fishguard service.

Gardaí are dealing with around ten separate crashes on the M4 Dublin to Sligo road between Enfield and Leixlip.

Traffic is reported to be extremely heavy as a result.

AA Roadwatch said all roads in and around the Dundalk area are treacherous due to snow and ice.

Sleet and snow showers are affecting visibility in Athlone and Mullingar towns. Roads are also icy around Tullamore, Clara, Edenderry in Co Offaly.

Further wintry are forecast for today, particularly in the east of the country and temperatures are expected to fall to around -4C overnight.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0311/376...g-met-eireann/