According to the meteorological service, Met Éireann, the past month, despite not feeling like it, has become the warmest May ever recorded in Ireland. The average temperature was 13.08 degrees, not particularly noticeable for sunny beach days, still, it was 2.53 degrees higher than the long-term average recorded between 1961-1990.
The statistics show an increase of 1.74 degrees in comparison to the average for May during the period 1991-2020. This marks only the second instance where the mean temperature for May surpassed the 13 degrees mark. The last occasion was in 2008, with a marginally lower temperature at 13.03 degrees.
The report from Met Éireann informs that no air frosts have been recorded for three consecutive Mays, with 14 of its weather stations documenting their highest mean minimums for May. May 1923, with an average reading of 8.67 degrees, still holds the record for the coldest.
Monthly sunshine records showed totals less than their long-term averages, with the proportion of monthly sunshine data varying from 79 percent at Shannon Airport, County Clare, recording its dreariest May since 2014, up to 80 percent at Casement Aerodrome, County Dublin. Monthly Sunshine Hours varied from 121.8 hours in Gurteen, County Tipperary, to 161.1 hours at Valentia Observatory, County Kerry. The highest number of daily sunshine hours, which was 14.9, was concurrently recorded at Johnstown Castle, County Wexford on Sunday 19th, and Cork Airport on Monday 20th.
Describing May 2024 as “tranquil, lacklustre, and intermittently thunderous,” Met Éireann’s monthly report attributed this weather behaviour to a mix of stagnating high and low-pressure areas presiding over the island under predominantly stagnant airflow. The east and northwest experienced a relatively dry month. Beginning on a wet note, the month turned predominantly dry from Saturday the 4th to Saturday the 11th as high pressure gradually developed over Ireland, culminating in two consecutive warm and sunny days on Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th.
Though the weather initially seemed agreeable, on Sunday, 12th of May, the eastern part of the country experienced thunderstorms. This was then followed by a nationwide rainfall the subsequent day due to a low pressure system moving close to the southeastern shoreline.
From Tuesday, 14th of May, until Friday, 24th of May, the majority of precipitation was convective and largely comprised of thundery showers. Over the weekend of the 25th and 26th of May, there was another widespread bout of rainfall as the country faced another low pressure system approaching from the western direction.
As the month neared its end, there were scattered showers resulting from the departure of the low pressure and the buildup of high pressure from the west. Despite the bouts of rain, overall precipitation levels were lower than average across most areas, with the most rainfall recorded in the southern and the northern midlands.