December 2020

Four geese at Bennettesbridge on a bright Christmas Eve day. Despite appearances it was quite a wet month and coldest December for 10 years.

December Weather Summary:

It was a cold month with a total of 10 air frosts. However the temperature never went really low and the minimum of -2.2° on 7th is quite higher than what you would expect in December. The warmest day was 12.8° on the 18th

It was a wet month with almost 120mm of rain. Wettest day was 22nd with 24.7mm of rain. The top wind gust of 74 km/hr was recorded on the 26th during Storm Bella.  

November 2020

A faint, pink, early morning rainbow formed over the River Nore on the last day of the month. After a mild, wet start conditions did dry out somewhat and with a few slight frosts.

November Weather Summary:

It was a mild month. A degree above normal. The maximum of 15.8° was recorded on the 1st of the month. There were 5 days with air frost and coldest was early on the 23rd when it dipped to a modest -1.1°.

The month started off wet but ended up a little drier than normal. The wettest day was the 7th with 13.5mm of rain and the highest wind gust of the month was 73 km/hr on the 2nd. 

October 2020

Looking west across the Lingaun valley near Tullahought on October 23rd. It was a pretty typical October month with some wet windy spells interspersed with brighter spells.

October Weather Summary:

A little colder and drier than normal. Max temperature was only 15.8° on 14th with lowest +0.7° recorded on the 1st. There were 16 days with ground frost. 

Rainfall total was 88.7mm with wettest day on 19th with 16.1mm. Top wind gust was 76 km/hr on 31st.  

September 2020

Looking south across south Co Kilkenny with the Comeragh Mountains and Slievenamon in the distance on a sunny Saturday 26th. Much of the month was warm and dry but there was a significant change in the last few days with some cold nights but the days were sunny.

September Weather Summary:

Largely it was a good month but there was a cold/wet end to it. Overall mean temperature was a little above normal. There were 10 days when it was over 20° C with the warmest being 23.9° on the 16th. Two days below zero at the end of the month, down to -0.7° on the 27th.

Rainfall was very sparse up to the 22nd. Total was 37.9mm and wettest day was 29th with 12.1mm. Top wind gust was only 46.5 km/hr on 25th.   

August 2020

The toll bridge over the River Siur at Granny, Co. Kilkenny on a cloudy day on August 24th.  It was a very mixed month with a stormy end. Two big storms struck in the 2nd half of the month. On the night of the 19th/20th we had storm Ellen. This storm produced record August windspeeds at Roches Point Co Cork. My max gust for Ellen was 77 km/hr. An even stronger gust was recorded on 25th during Storm Francis. The picture above shows the after effects of Storm Ellen on the trees in south Kilkenny. The ash tree in the picture was withered on the southern (windward side). This pattern was replicated on many deciduous trees in the area.

August Weather Summary:

August was very mixed. It started off dry and summery with many warm days and temperatures peaking at 25.2° on 12th. However the second half turned very poor with frequent rainy spells and storms. Wettest day was 24th with 24.6mm of rain. The month ended on a cool note with some ground frost and lowest air temperature of 4.3° on 31st. Top wind gust of 87 km/hr was recorded on 25th during Storm Francis.

July 2020

A sunny afternoon on July 15th overlooking the King's River near Ennisnag. Whilst there were no real hot days, there were some nice dry,sunny spells sprinkled throughout the month.

July Weather Summary:

July was cooler than normal with average rainfall. There were no hot spells. Top temperature was only 23.2° on 16th. Coolest night was early on the 20th when it dipped to 5.3°. There were quite a few cool nights with the grass minimum falling below zero on 4 occasions. Lowest grass min was -1.7° on 20th. It was our coolest July in 5 years. 

It was dry for much of the month but a wet end ensured it came out average. It was our wettest in 6 years. Wettest day was on 28th when 14.6mm fell. Top wind gust was recorded on 5th when it reached almost 70 km/hr. 

June 2020

The Monkey Puzzle Avenue at Woodstock, Inistiogue on a warm, humid June 16th. This was right in the midst of a thundery spell of weather. That day there was frequent thunder over the Blackstairs mountains and later heard at Kilkenny but only just 0.5mm fell in the city.  

June Weather Summary:

June was a little warmer than normal and after a dry start rainfall ended up close to normal. Much to the relief of farmers and gardeners as soil moisture deficits were getting very low following a dry spring.

There were three days when the temperature exceeded 25 ° C with the warmest day being the first with 25.8°. This was sharply followed by a cold speel with northerly winds and the temperature fell to 6.4° on the 6th.

Rainfall was sparse in the first half but then on the 18th there was 20.5mm with frequent thundery spells. In fact there were 5 days when thunder was heard. Top wind gust of 66 km/hr was during the cold spell on the 6th. 

May 2020

The view across the Abbey Meadow, Callan on May 4th. And so began an incredible May month festooned with lots of sunny dry days.  

May Weather Summary:

It was a warm month but only our warmest May in 2 years. 2018, 2017 and 2016 were warmer. There were 10 days when the temperature rose above 20 C with the warmest day being 24.7° on 31st. However there were some cold nights around mid month  with 2 air frosts and 10 ground frosts. The coldest temperature was early on the 12th when it dipped to -1.6°

It was also a very dry month. Our driest May for 29 years. Wettest day was on the 21st with 7.8mm. Thunder was frequent for a few hours in the afternoon of Saturday 9th, but only 0.4mm fell in the evening. Locally there were much higher totals. Top wind gust was 79 km/hr recorded on the 22nd. 

April 2020

Looking across Irishtown over towards the Round Tower on another beautifully sunny, but very quiet day on Easter Monday April 13th. The country was still on lockdown due to the Covid-19 epidemic with very few cars and people about. 

April Weather Summary:

April was sunny, warm and dry. It was the warmest in 6 years. Top temperature was 21.0° recorded on the 25th. There were 2 days when the temperature dipped below zero, 14th and 15th, when it got to -0.8°.

It was a dry month, driest in 3 years. Almost half the rainfall fell on one day, 5th, when 15.5mm was recorded. The top gust for the month of 58 km/hr occurred on the 5th. 

March 2020

Clear blue skies above the River Nore at Green's Bridge on the afternoon of March 22nd. The country was practically shutdown at this stage due to the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. Very few aircraft were visible in the skies. 

March Weather Summary:

The weather was quite wet at times during the first half of the month, but after St. Patrick's Day there was no more rain. Overall rainfall for the month was below normal. Wettest day was on the 9th with 16.1mm of rain.

The mean temperature was normal for the month. Some of the nights were cool with a total of 7 air frosts but none of them were severe. Coldest temperature was -1.8° on the 16th. The warmest day was on the 26th when it reached a pleasant 17.1°.

The top wind gust was recorded on the 12th when it reached 76 km/hr.   

February 2020

The lake at Windgap village on 11th February. At higher levels there were a few occasions with snow lying, however at low levels there was very little. The majority oi the month was characterized with rain and almost continuous strong winds as a succession of depressions moved across the Atlantic.

February Weather Summary:

It was a very wet month. With a total of 159.4mm, it was our second wettest on record (after 2014). Wettest day was the 8th with over 1" of rain (25.6mm).

It was a bit milder than normal and with all the wind and rain there was only 2 air frosts. Lowest was -1.2° on the 5th and warmest was 14.3° on the 28th.

The wind was strong and the top gust was 97 km/hr during Storm Dennis on 16th. Snow fell on a few occasions but no more than  a trace lying in the city. 

January 2020

A hard frost over the Nore valley at Greenshill on January 19th. The air temperature dipped to -5.4° C with the ground temperature as low as -10.9°. A huge anticyclone was positioned over Ireland at the time, with pressure as high as 1049 hPa. The highest since the 1960s.

January Weather Summary:

The mean temperature was a little above normal and there was only 5 days with temperatures below zero. The picture above details the lowest temperature and the highest temperature was recorded on the 31st with 14.0°.

After a wet start, the huge anticyclone at the middle of the month ensured that the month overall was dry with only 55.7mm of rain (67% of normal). 

Top wind gust of 93 km/hr was recorded on January 13th when Storm Brendan passed close to the west coast.