December 2023
Outside St.John's Priory on December 3rd on a bright but cool morning. The first few days of the month were quite frosty but thereafter it turned mild, wet and windy.December Weather Summary:
It was a mild, wet month. It was the mildest in 5 years with only 5 air frosts, all occurring before Dec 7th. The lowest was -3.6° on the 1st. The highest recorded was 13.5° on the 18th.
Rainfall was 122% of normal with the wettest day being the 26th. There were a few windy episodes with the highest gust of 80 km/hr recorded during Storm Fergus on the 10th
November 2023
Spectators eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus at John's Bridge on 25th of November. The month finished on a dry note and the first frosts finally arrived 28th. This is the latest date for arrival of the first air frost.November Weather Summary:
The mean temperature of 7.7° was slightly above normal. Only 2 air frosts were recorded with lowest being -1.5° on 28th. The warmest day was the 18th when it reached 14.2°.
Rainfall through much of the month was quite light and the last week was dry. The wettest day was the 9th with 10.4mm of rain.
The top wind gust of 68 km/hr occurred during Storm Debi on the 13th. Storm Ciarán passed just to the south of Ireland on the 2nd but devastated NW France.
October 2023
Flooding in the Waterbarracks from the River Breagagh on October 29th. The first 9 days were warm and relatively dry but the month concluded on a very wet note and it ended up our second wettest October on record.October Weather Summary:
The mean temperature was fro October was again above normal. Warmest day was 7th with a max of 23.0°. Lowest was 0.1° on 15th and there were 10 days with ground frost.
Rainfall total was 164.3mm and the wettest day was 28th with 19.4mm of rain. There were 8 days with 10mm or more rainfall. However, no storms and the top wind gust was 45 km/hr on 13th.
September 2023
The sun sets behind St.Mary's Cathedral on the evening of 18th, heralding another wet day to come. The month started gloriously with an official heatwave between 4th and 9th but from 14th onwards it turned very wet.September Weather Summary:
The mean temperature was 15.0°, our warmest since 2021. On the 8th it reached 28.0° which was a new September record for Kilkenny. The coldest night was 23rd when it reached 1.6°. Ground frost occured on three nights
Rainfall total was identical to last year's and it was 175% of normal. Wettest day was 14th with 22.2mm of rain. Topp wind gust of 81 km/hr was recorded on 27th during Storm Agnes.
August 2023
A pleasant afternoon scene at Kells on Sunday August 6th. However on many days like this there were also plenty of showers sprinkled about. So it was a bit of mixed bag. The nights were a lot milder than normal and rainfall ended up close to the norm.August Weather Summary:
The mean temperature of 16.3° was a half a degree above normal due primarily to the milder than normal nights. It did exceed 20° on 15 days with the max of 24.9° recorded on the 9th. Coolest was 7.0 ° on 7th.
Rainfall was near normal and wettest day was 18th when Storm Betty passed through on Friday evening. Thunder was heard on 18th and 25th. Top wind gust was 55 km/hr on 5th.
July 2023
Umbrellas are up, outside the old Carnegie Library at the Canal in Kilkenny on 26th July. A picture that sums up the month. There were very few dry days (only 4) with frequent bouts of rain/showers.July Weather Summary:
The mean temperature of 15.7° was a little cooler than normal. Top temperature was 23.0° on the 27th and coolest was 7.2° on the 4th. It was our coolest July in 3 years.
The incessant rain was the main talking point of the month it was the wettest since 2009 with 143.1mm of rain. Wettest day was the 10th with 18.4mm. Thunder was heard on 2 occasions. Top wind gust was 56 km/hr on 15th.
June 2023
Big thunderstorm over Ballyhale as viewed over the M9 Motorway at Mullinavat on June 20th. The first half of the month was very dry with a partial drought ending on June 12th. Then late on Friday 16th came the first of a series of heavy torrential bursts of rain that caused flash flooding in the city.June Weather Summary:
It was a very warm month. Mean temperature of 16.8° made it the warmest June since continuous records began. Warmest day was the 13th with 28.1° and coolest night was the 4th with 5.0°. There were 5 days with ground frost.
Rainfall was well above normal due to a series of convective bursts. The wettest day was 19th with 42.0mm of rain. Top wind gust was 53 km/hr recorded on the 20th.
May 2023
A pleasant evening stroll along the Parade at Kilkenny on May 26th. After a mixed start, the month ended on a glorious note with seemingly endless sunshine in the final week.May Weather Summary:
It was a warm, dry month. It tied with 2008 as our warmest May. It reached 20° or more on 6 occasions and the top temperature was 23.3° on the 30th. The lowest temparature of 2.3° was recorded on the 16th. There were 6 days with grass frost.
After a wet start there was practically no rain in the second half of the month. Wettest day was 7th with 12.7mm of rain. Top wind gust was 45 km/hr on the 10th.
April 2023
Aghaviller Round Tower and Church in fine weather on April 14th. There were some nice days such as this one and overall it was a near average month.April Weather Summary:
It was milder than normal with a mean of 9.9°. The highest temperature of 18.6° was recorded on the last day of the month. The lowest was -1.2° recorded on the 25th.
Rainfall was near normal - but it managed to be our wettest in 4 years. Wettest day was the 22nd when 17.0 was recorded. Top wind gust was 82 km/hr recorded on the 12th April.
March 2023
A pleasant evening on Sunday March 26th. This was the last day of the Saint Patrick's Festival. Dry days were scarce this month with plenty of rain or showers each day. Around March the 9th there was some snowfall but it only settled on higher ground around the outside of the City. The minimum temperature that morning remained above zero at +1.0° C.March Weather Summary:
It was a mild and wet month. It started off on the cold side with some snow between the 8th and 10th, however it was of the wet variety and settled mostly on high ground. On the morning of the 9th the snow level dropped down and there was some settling snow on the outskirts of the City but no problems were reported.
The persistent rainfall was a feature of the month. It ended up the wettest march for 59 years. Wettest day was the 15th with 13.9mm of rain
After the cold start the month finished mild and overall was warmer than normal. Warmest day was the 28th with 17.2° snd coldest night was 15th with -1.3°. Top wind gust was 81 km/hr on the 24th.
February 2023
Snowdrops in full bloom at Kilkenny Castle Park on 6th February. The ground remained very dry all month. It ended up the driest February in 37 years.February Weather Summary:
It was another mild month but not quite as mild as last February. It reached a maximum of 14.2° on three occasions. There were no cold days with the lowest maximum being 8.4° on the 27th. There were 7 air frosts and the lowest minimum was -3.2° on the 5th.
It was also a very dry month - our driest February in 37 years with a total of only 11.7mm. There were no storms with a top wind gust of only 49 km/hr on the 22nd.
January 2023
Greenshill, on the morning of the 18th. A light snowfall occurred just after midnight in the early hours of the 18th. It didnt remain for too long however. It followed a brief frosty spell around mid month but by Saturday 21st temperatures rose and remained so until the end of the month.January Weather Summary:
It was a mild January - mildest in 11 years. The top temperature was 13.1° on the 10th and coldest was -4.8° on 17th. There were 9 days with air frost.
Rainfall was heavy in the first 2 weeks but then it turned dry and overall it was slightly drier than normal. There was one day with measurable snow. Top wind gust was 75 km/hr on the 12th.