CLIMATE
Dublin enjoys a maritime temperate climate characterised by mild winters, cool summers, and a lack of temperature extremes. Contrary to popular belief, Dublin does not experience as high rainfall as the West of Ireland, which receives twice that of the capital city. Dublin has fewer rainy days, on average, than London. The average maximum January temperature is 8 °C, the average maximum July temperature is 20 °C. The sunniest months, on average, are May and June. The wettest months, on average, are December and August, with 74 mm of rain. The driest month is April, with 45 mm. The total average annual rainfall (and other forms of precipitation) is 762 mm, lower than Sydney, New York City and even Dallas. Due to Dublin's high latitude, it experiences long summer days (around 19 hours of daylight) and short winter days (as short as nine hours). Like the rest of Ireland it is relatively safe from common natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis.
The city is not noted for its temperature extremes due to its mild climate. Typically, the coldest months are December, January and February. Temperatures in summer in recent years have been rising to substantially above average figures, e.g. 31 °C in July 2006, over 11 °C higher than the average maximum. Recent heat waves include the European heat wave of 2003 and European heat wave of 2006.
The main precipitation in winter is rain. The city can experience some snow showers during the months from November to April, but lying snow is rare (on average, only 4/5 days). Hail occurs more often than snow, and is most likely during the winter and spring months. Another rare type of weather is thunder and lightning, most common in summer.
|
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
|
Average high |
8°C
(46°F) |
8°C
(46°F) |
10°C
(50°F) |
13°C
(55°F) |
15°C
(59°F) |
18°C
(64°F) |
20°C
(68°F) |
19°C
(66°F) |
17°C
(63°F) |
14°C
(57°F) |
10°C
(50°F) |
8°C
(46°F) |
|
Average low |
1°C
(34°F) |
2°C
(36°F) |
3°C
(37°F) |
4°C
(39°F) |
6°C
(43°F) |
9°C
(48°F) |
11°C
(52°F) |
11°C
(52°F) |
9°C
(48°F) |
6°C
(43°F) |
4°C
(39°F) |
3°C
(37°F) |
|
Total rainfall |
67 mm (2.6") |
55 mm (2.1") |
51 mm (2") |
45 mm (1.7") |
60 mm (2.3") |
57 mm (2.2") |
70 mm (2.7") |
74 mm (2.9") |
72 mm (2.8") |
70 mm (2.7") |
67 mm (2.6") |
74 mm (2.9") |
|
