The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
LAST month was the third warmest May on record in Ireland, and Shannon saw the highest temperatures in the country during it.
Shannon had an average temperature of 13.1 degrees celsius for the month, the highest of all the Met Éireann weather stations in Ireland.
It also had the highest temperature recorded in Ireland, when the mercury reached 21 degrees on May 28.
Rainfall in Shannon was 20% below average for the month, while there were 175.8 hours of sunshine, just below the town’s long term average.
The Met Éireann summary of the month said, “May was a warm, relatively dry month overall, with the airflow mostly between southerly and westerly.
“High pressure to the south and east of Ireland dominated at times, interspersed with periods where low pressure to the west and north west brought bands of rain or showers across the country.
“The first week saw frontal rain in the South and East at first, followed by drier conditions with some showers, before widespread frontal rain crossed the country from the northwest on the 6th.
“The second week saw high pressure to the east pulling away, allowing low pressure to the north west to take control, steering bands of frontal rain or showers over the country between the 9th and 12th in a westerly airflow, with the heaviest rain in the Northwest.
“The week finished dry with high pressure building to the south of Ireland.
“The third week saw Atlantic low pressure encroaching from the west and steering bands of frontal rain or showers across the country in a southerly airflow.
“There was heavy rain in the East on the 17th, with heavy thundery showers in the Midlands and North on the 16th and in the Southwest on the 17th.
“The fourth week saw low pressure to the north steering mostly weak weather fronts across the country from the west at times, interspersed with dry periods.
“High pressure, which built from the south towards the end of the fourth week, brought mainly dry, warm and sunny conditions, before pulling away to the northwest, allowing a cooler, showery northerly airflow to take hold for the final few days of the month,” the report concluded.
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
