Gulf Stream weather in Ireland - forecast?

J1

Reading threads here gives me hope that someone might be able to explain something. Every year I go on holiday to a little known place just south of Skibereen in West Cork called Tragumna. Over the last few years we have gone for 2 wks in July and while it has poured rain non stop everywhere else in the country during those weeks we have had glorious sunshine. The locals tell us it is in the Gulf Stream. We can never check the weather forecast because it never fits for where we are.
Does anyone know anything about this phenomenan and is it possible to predict the weather for this area. We are going again for the last 2 weeks in July and would love to know whether the weather is going to be as good again because it literally has a weather system of it's own.

Deep Easterly

J1 wrote: »

Reading threads here gives me hope that someone might be able to explain something. Every year I go on holiday to a little known place just south of Skibereen in West Cork called Tragumna. Over the last few years we have gone for 2 wks in July and while it has poured rain non stop everywhere else in the country during those weeks we have had glorious sunshine. The locals tell us it is in the Gulf Stream. We can never check the weather forecast because it never fits for where we are.
Does anyone know anything about this phenomenan and is it possible to predict the weather for this area. We are going again for the last 2 weeks in July and would love to know whether the weather is going to be as good again because it literally has a weather system of it's own.

Most probably to do with the nature of the rainfall during July 2009, which was mostly convective in nature. Convective rainfall during high summer is most pronounced overland as large landmasses will warm quicker than small islands offshore such as the one you speak off. If the air above is unstable, as it was during much of July, then combined with surface heating will produce showers, which are often heavy, which basically sums up the weather of July 2009!


Rainfall accumulation map for July 2009:




Image taken from Met Eireann July 09 Monthly Weather Bulletin

WolfeIRE

Sure is an interesting one. Thanks for posting.

Tragumna is a fairly small blue flag beach, located in a hamlet 6kms from skibbereen. 3km away is the world famous Lough Hyne which is a designated Marine Nature Reserve.

There is no mention online about the alleged microclimate that exists there.

However, the fact that it is located in a small hamlet and a small island located 100 yards off shore to its South shields it from rougher waters would mean it is not as exposed to the elements.

The beach also faces and slopes SE to S which means it is exposed to more sunlight than many other beaches. It is protected from the prevailing winds by high ground to the SW and W, most notably Ballyoughtera, Mt. Gabriel and highground near Toehead.

I don't know what the soil type is like around the beach itself. Clay would have the effect of acting like concrete in terms of reflecting heat back up off the ground. Furthermore, i note there is a carpark at the beach which would add to this, especially considering it is right beside the beach which itself is very small. In essence, it is a strand.

By the way, there are palm trees in my parent's garden as well but that's because they planted them. There is also an australian rubber tree in the garden there but we have no 40c temps or bouncey kangaroos.

I hope this helps. Others I am sure will be more qualified to answer.

TRAGUMNA

Deep Easterly

WolfeIRE wrote: »

Tragumna is a fairly small blue flag beach, located in a hamlet 6kms from skibbereen. 3km away is the world famous Lough Hyne which is a designated Marine Nature Reserve.

I am not sure how I read it as being an actual island! :eek:. But good explaination Wolf.

I have just copped on that J1 may actually be advertising the area though :pac:

Wolfe, heard on the radio yester that there is a charge now of 20euro to see the Cliffs of Moher. Please tell me this is not the case.

owenc

Deep Easterly wrote: »

I am not sure how I read it as being an actual island! :eek:. But good explaination Wolf.

I have just copped on that J1 may actually be advertising the area though :pac:

Wolfe, heard on the radio yester that there is a charge now of 20euro to see the Cliffs of Moher. Please tell me this is not the case.

Its true they have a forum about it, someone must've been listening to the same radio as you.

WolfeIRE

Deep Easterly wrote: »

Wolfe, heard on the radio yester that there is a charge now of 20euro to see the Cliffs of Moher. Please tell me this is not the case.

If you heard it on liveline then it must be true! But no, 20 euro is wrong. Previously it was 8 euro car parking fee and another 4.50 to see the new centre and access other onsite facilities. Now, a 6 euro fee per adult (no charge for children) replaces the car parking charge and you get to access all areas for that.

Ultimately though if you and your three friends wish to see the cliffs and have no interest in the centre, you must pay €6 x 4 adults as opposed to the 8 euro car park fee from before.

Deep Easterly

WolfeIRE wrote: »

If you heard it on liveline then it must be true! But no, 20 euro is wrong. Previously it was 8 euro car parking fee and another 4.50 to see the new centre and access other onsite facilities. Now, a 6 euro fee per adult (no charge for children) replaces the car parking charge and you get to access all areas for that.

Either way, it just sounds like yet another scam to exploite people Wolf. Paying to see a part of the country. Feck that.

WolfeIRE

Deep Easterly wrote: »

Either way, it just sounds like yet another scam to exploite people Wolf. Paying to see a part of the country. Feck that.

i think people are being made to pay for a centre that they didn't look for and is subsequently losing money.

by the way, here is a list of attractions and prices:
Attraction Adult Price (A) Child price (C)
Cliffs Of Moher – €6.00 (A) – €Free (C)
Dublin Zoo – €15.00 (A) – €10.50 (C)
Guinness Storehouse – €15.00 – (A) – €5.00 (C)
National Aquatic Centre – €12.00 (A) – €9.00 (C)
Trinity College Library (Book of Kells) – €9.00 (A) – Free (C)
Blarney Castle – €10.00 (A ) – €3.50 (C)
St Patrick’s Cathedral – €5.50 (A) – Free (C)
Fota Wildlife Park – €13.50 (A) – €9.00 (C)
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park – €15.75 (A) – €9.00 (C)
Kilmainham Gaol – €6.00 (A) – €2.00 (C)
Kilkenny Castle – €6.00 (A) – €2.50 (C)

No wonder tourists are not coming here as much anymore.

Back to the weather, and i think you might be correct about the person who asked this micro climate question. Prob runs a cafe on the beachfront If I am wrong I apologise in advance

Deep Easterly

WolfeIRE wrote: »

i think people are being made to pay for a centre that they didn't look for and is subsequently losing money.

by the way, here is a list of attractions and prices:
Attraction Adult Price (A) Child price (C)
Cliffs Of Moher – €6.00 (A) – €Free (C)
Dublin Zoo – €15.00 (A) – €10.50 (C)
Guinness Storehouse – €15.00 – (A) – €5.00 (C)
National Aquatic Centre – €12.00 (A) – €9.00 (C)
Trinity College Library (Book of Kells) – €9.00 (A) – Free (C)
Blarney Castle – €10.00 (A ) – €3.50 (C)
St Patrick’s Cathedral – €5.50 (A) – Free (C)
Fota Wildlife Park – €13.50 (A) – €9.00 (C)
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park – €15.75 (A) – €9.00 (C)
Kilmainham Gaol – €6.00 (A) – €2.00 (C)
Kilkenny Castle – €6.00 (A) – €2.50 (C)

No wonder tourists are not coming here as much anymore.

Back to the weather, and i think you might be correct about the person who asked this micro climate question. Prob runs a cafe on the beachfront If I am wrong I apologise in advance

Was just going to make that point! Nobody wanted that centre to be built, now they have to pay for it. I was there, i think about 3 years ago or 4, while it was being built and it was just an eyesore. A black, cancerous spot on pure beauty. .

J1

WolfeIRE thank u so much for the detailed reply. It is really interesting what you say about the soil/sand type. The beach sand is really dark and very unusual, apparently something to do with turf, not sure. The beach has a little island in it that certainly effects the water so maybe the weather too. Fair enough about the palm trees though. The other thing that you see alot of are butterflys and I believe that has something to do with heat. I notice too that when you look at the rain radar that little patch is often missed by the rain. It is really strange though, there is actually a family who live in Skib and also have a house by Trag beach (only 10 mins from Skib), they spend their summer in this house because of the unusual weather.

As for the others my question has nothing to do with advertising a place, it's a genuine question. I live in wicklow and i'm just curious about a place I love that's all.

WolfeIRE

it is really interesting J1. Thanks a lot for sharing. Certainly one that you should email the dept of geography in UCC about. I am sure they would be interested to hear about it or they could also have some info.

Su Campu

Going by what Wolf said about the high ground to the SW and W of it, then it's very likely that it's in the rain shadow of that high ground when it comes to frontal rain, and could in fact be also under the influence of Foehn-type situations. As the saturated air is forced up over the high ground it cools at a rate of 4C/km (SALR) and looses its moisture as rain, so by the time it comes down the other side it's now dry and warms at a much quicker 9.8C/km (DALR), meaning it's much warmer at sea level than its original temperature. This loss of moisture, plus the subsidence, give the much clearer conditions you speak of.

Of course probably a much more common reason is that given by Deep Easterly regarding convection.

I remember when I was a kid we used to go to Clonakilty and Inchadoney around this time and always seemed to get the perfect 2 weeks weather too, though I reckon we remember the weather of our childhood to be better than it actually was (better summers and snowier winters)

owenc

Su Campu wrote: »

Going by what Wolf said about the high ground to the SW and W of it, then it's very likely that it's in the rain shadow of that high ground when it comes to frontal rain, and could in fact be also under the influence of Foehn-type situations. As the saturated air is forced up over the high ground it cools at a rate of 4C/km (SALR) and looses its moisture as rain, so by the time it comes down the other side it's now dry and warms at a much quicker 9.8C/km (DALR), meaning it's much warmer at sea level than its original temperature. This loss of moisture, plus the subsidence, give the much clearer conditions you speak of.

Of course probably a much more common reason is that given by Deep Easterly regarding convection.

I remember when I was a kid we used to go to Clonakilty and Inchadoney around this time and always seemed to get the perfect 2 weeks weather too, though I reckon we remember the weather of our childhood to be better than it actually was (better summers and snowier winters)

I'll use that as a definition to prove to them why my area has extremer values than the surrounding countryside, as there is a massive 350m hill behind me. That explains why ballykelly got 23c on the coast and is frequently the warmest on this island (btw the same hill is affecting them, thats were my hill leads to.) Thats probably another reason why that mountain gets so much snow and why we get so little but colder temps, it snatches it!

DOCARCH

Su Campu wrote: »

Going by what Wolf said about the high ground to the SW and W of it, then it's very likely that it's in the rain shadow of that high ground when it comes to frontal rain, and could in fact be also under the influence of Foehn-type situations. As the saturated air is forced up over the high ground it cools at a rate of 4C/km (SALR) and looses its moisture as rain, so by the time it comes down the other side it's now dry and warms at a much quicker 9.8C/km (DALR), meaning it's much warmer at sea level than its original temperature. This loss of moisture, plus the subsidence, give the much clearer conditions you speak of.

Of course probably a much more common reason is that given by Deep Easterly regarding convection.

I remember when I was a kid we used to go to Clonakilty and Inchadoney around this time and always seemed to get the perfect 2 weeks weather too, though I reckon we remember the weather of our childhood to be better than it actually was (better summers and snowier winters)

Ditto, when I was younger nearly every year we went to West Cork for 2 weeks in July and I cannot remember any bad weather!

owenc

DOCARCH wrote: »

Ditto, when I was younger nearly every year we went to West Cork for 2 weeks in July and I cannot remember any bad weather!

This all sounds weird to me, would it not rain like hell there it looks like a place were it would rain and rain and rain and rain!!! Them charts show that too.

Deep Easterly

owenc wrote: »

This all sounds weird to me, would it not rain like hell there it looks like a place were it would rain and rain and rain and rain!!! Them charts show that too.

What charts?

JI, sorry for assuming that you were just advertising the place. You make it sound so picture perfect for the sun lovin' tourist. Come to where the sun always shines while it rains everywhere else!

owenc

Deep Easterly wrote: »

What charts?

JI, sorry for assuming that you were just advertising the place. You make it sound so picture perfect for the sun lovin' tourist. Come to where the sun always shines while it rains everywhere else!

The rain maps, its under the dark blue.

Deep Easterly

owenc wrote: »

The rain maps, its under the dark blue.

Oh right, I thought you meant charts as in the plural.

Does the map represent N.I well for last July? and is it anyway similar to the rainfall distribution maps that the UKMO use?

owenc

Deep Easterly wrote: »

Oh right, I thought you meant charts as in the plural.

Does the map represent N.I well for last July? and is it anyway similar to the rainfall distribution maps that the UKMO use?

Well it shows that i have the least amount of rainfall which is good and surprising considering the amount of days it rains which is like 50 a year but if you think about the west down south they get like 250 days so its not a lot. Heres a wee thing from the metoffice http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/regmapavge.html# We seem to have similar rain to the south east of england as a whole (in my area)

Deep Easterly

owenc wrote: »

Well it shows that i have the least amount of rainfall which is good and surprising considering the amount of days it rains which is like 50 a year but if you think about the west down south they get like 250 days so its not a lot. Heres a wee thing from the metoffice http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/regmapavge.html# We seem to have similar rain to the south east of england as a whole (in my area)

Wow, I like the detailed high res imagery they use:

July 71-00 average rainfall map for N.I:



Powerful detail there, would love if our own met made pubic similar maps on their site to chart monthly average rainfall distribution/temp etc.

WolfeIRE

Deep Easterly wrote: »

Powerful detail there, would love if our own met made pubic similar maps on their site to chart monthly average rainfall distribution/temp etc.

leave pubic out of this.

Looks like the Union Jack. Do I not like that! jk

owenc

WolfeIRE wrote: »

leave pubic out of this.

Looks like the Union Jack. Do I not like that! jk

lol anyway whos public?

Ahorseofaman

owenc wrote: »

lol anyway whos pubic?

Pubic Meteologicus Genitalium was an ancient roman weatherman who died in Pompeii.:D

J1

Hi all thanks for the interest. I am heading out there for 2 weeks end of July and I will report the weather back so as a matter of curiousity for everyone.