Weather memories
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January 1985… the snow.. up to the window sills, marooned inside.
June 1987… being driven along a motorway in Florida, major storm happened and we had to pull away into a disused mall parking lot, we literally couldn’t see out the windows and what I can only describe as a persistent sheet of rain envelopes the car. Car lot got flooded but luckily stopped before the top of the tyre…
June 2003 or 2004…South Of France for a week… temps during the afternoon in the late 30’s… it was impossible to go anywhere or do anything for the bulk of the trip until about 8 pm which is too late… one saving grace was the hotel room had a refrigerator so could keep that stocked up with drinks and the shop was 20 meters from the hotel. Lucked out there. I was pissing like a racehorse though given the amount of liquids consumed.
March 2006… Copenhagen, work trip… snow again but how impressive that a city can be so organised, efficient and smart when handling it… a LOT of snow but nothing stopped, adapt and overcome…
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Once I spent a fortnight in Sundsvall (mid-Sweden) in February. There was snow and ice on all the roads but because they have the correct tires all was operating normally.
Only when an unexpected thaw came one evening did chaos ensue, roads blocked and busses cancelled.
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Long long ago walking five miles home from school in the thickest of fogs...Totally blind blank..
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2021 was the best autumn colours I had seen since 2013 is what I meant when I said in years. In fact, quite similar seasons in both years. Cold springs, warm summers and reduced gales during the autumn.
The late March snowfall you mention was probably 22 March 2017 and the other 30th March 2010? Think the former was a classic Irish Sea modification here that resulted in a cold rain washout.
Photography site - https://www.sryanbruenphoto.com/
Weather photo portfolio - https://sryanbruen.myportfolio.com/weather-1
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It's amazing how many weather events you remember when you actually think about it!
- Christmas Eve storm 1997, one of the worst storms I've experienced I think. Remember being in Wilton church, went in with my parents to say a prayer 😋 and the window at the back of the altar had been blown in. Mind you, I have no idea why we were out in that weather! These days it would have been a red warning for sure.
- Floods October 2004 - some of the most intense rain I have ever experienced and relentless (as Siobhan Ryan would say 😉) for the whole day. I just looked it up there and it was 27th/28th October and according to Irish Times article: "Over an inch of rain fell in a 12-hour period". I was in college at the time and got the bus from there to go home but had to get off in the city centre because Patrick Street, Grand Parade and all surrounding area were flooded. Waded through Patrick Street with my brother (who was also in college at the time) and finally was collected by a neighbour on Patricks Hill (the Norries were safe from the flood waters 😀). My dad was working on the building site of what is now the Clayton Hotel on Lapps Quay and he was trapped in there because the water flooded outside the site - it was like a moat!
- White Christmas 2004 - I think it was 2004, I have a pic of myself wearing a santa hat holding our (now deceased 😥) bichon frise out our back and the flash of the camera highlighted the flakes falling. It wasn't much snow but it was enough to be considered a White Christmas! 😀
- Floods November 2009 - Another terrible flooding incident. The ESB released water from the dam out in Iniscarra which of course significantly worsened the situation. I remember actually making it to work the following day and there was probably only myself and security there. One of the other buildings in my work was flooded really badly and had only recently opened too.
- Winter 2010 - One of my favourite memories. 17th December 2010, coming home from work around 5pm and the flakes started falling. By the time I got home it was snowing steadily. I live on a hill and was looking out at this amazing weather (and posting on Boards!) and there were cars sliding all over the place....! The cold was unbelieveable for the whole Christmas period. I remember the thaw setting in then on Stephens Day. The threads on Boards are classics!!
I have noticed that most of the memories are from over 10 years ago....wonder will we ever see a Winter like 2010 again....sigh
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Summer 1995 was the daddy.
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Join Date:Posts: 16537
If I could pick a single greatest memory for each type of weather event it would be these.
July 1985 for Thunder and lightning. A once in a lifetime event which has never even come close to being matched since anywhere in Ireland.
January 1982 for the infamous blizzard. This is the absolute daddy of snow events. While The December to Remember in 2010 and Storm Emma in March 2018 were awesome, the 1982 event is well above both of these in a league of its own.
Summer 1995: Easily the best spell of continuous hot weather and sunshine I can ever remember.
Christmas Eve 1997: Easily the scariest wind event here in Meath, we usually escape the worst of these events but this one was the real deal.
August 1986 - Hurricane Charley for the floods.
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Wow, how could I forget the beautiful clear blue skies of April and May 2020 during the pandemic. Everyone was in summer clothing and shades in the long queues outside supermarkets, imagine if it was miserable weather. The March of 2013 (the fodder crisis) deserves an honourable mention as I think it was the coldest March on record, even the ivy on the trees died facing the harsh east wind. This past decade there appears to be longer dry spells, lasting weeks, but in my opinion storms have weakened considerably in terms of windspeed (Darwin being an exception). The summers of 2007 and 2009 were terrible but 2009 holds a memory for me as having the heaviest downpour I have ever witnessed turning the fields into lakes and roads into rivers. It was a day near the end of July in county Meath 2009 and I would love to have seen the rainfall radar. Anyway, great reading everyone's posts and I'm wondering will Grace have a weather memoir or calendar published for Christmas, if not, you should as you have a beautiful poetic way with words.
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Kind man and I never thought of it. My weblog keeps me busy islandanchorhold.blogspot.com... and records here last.
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I wouldn't be able to put specific years to things. I grew up in the midlands in the 80's and I always remember September was Mushroom season, you would have the warm days and then thundery showers which was a sign to head out with the bags to pick them. This was pretty much every year at the same time.
It was 1982 or 1985 we had a week of snow, the main road was white and packed hard with snow. The national school bus didn't run, the local policeman had a citron and collected a load of us and stuffed as many into the car to get us to school. I think that was the year the pipe from the well froze.
There was a bad thunderstorm one year, I remember where the lightning was bouncing off Lough Ree. Far worse than any other thunder storms we would have had.
I remember every year Clonown just outside Athlone flooded. House's would be flooded and new ones being built around the same area. Same place wtill complaining about getting floods.
I'd say early 2000's the Strawberry Beds got badly flooded and I remember a road up on the right was like a white water rafting river. I think the road went up to Lucan or Leixlip.
2010 I remember here in Waterford going to work and the cars in front of me bouncing off the kerbs where they were not used to driving in the snow. My work place was at the end of a slope and off to the right. The trick was about 50 ft from the turn, start turning the wheel and you just slid into the parking spot 😁 I remember the ice crystals hanging in the air so clearly. I was so crisp and clear.
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January 1991 stands out for me as the worst storm; probably the deadliest since Debbie, and really hammered us in Galway.
I think it was October 2014, great lowering skies with thunder and high winds, and hundreds of Gannets and Kittiwakes driven into the inner Galway Bay. All diving into the shoals of fish, and avoiding the feasting seals, just metres off Nimmos Pier at the Claddagh. Never seen anything like it since.
Re the Clare floods of 2009, the freezing after left a ring of bare bark on submerged trees surrounding turloughs, where mosses were killed off, indicating the height of the inundation. This is still visible (though becoming less so every year) on many thousands of specimens in Clare and South Galway.
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Picking the wild mushrooms after the muggy weather, the thrill of finding a pocket of white, even if it was only your dad that ate them. Good memories alright. I had that 1991 storm on my first post, I remember it was similar to the 1988 one even though not quite as strong. I think a tree fell across a mini bus carrying tourists with some fatalities. There was no real warning systems then and even though the warning criteria is a bit flawed today, the west of Ireland would be a red warning and lives might have been saved as this storm was well forecasted in advance. As for 2010, that November and December will go down in history.
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I may have been born short of the new millennium, but through recorded videos, my own memory and photo documents I can remember a decent portion of the weather events I have lived through
October 13th 2002: I was only 4 months old so I don't remember this, but October 13th had a flooding deluge in Dublin, flooding Rathmines specifically and most likely my area since I live near the Dodder river!
December 24th 2004: This was my 3rd official Christmas as I was born the summer of 2002, I remember a very small snip it of rolling into my auntie's driveway on Christmas day in Northern Ireland, and the snow started to bucket down. There's a picture of me and my older cousin making a snowman that day, I think I managed to get a better accumulation than Dublin that day based off my location, so lucky me!!
July 2006: Not too many memories from this period, but I do recall the warm days in Brittas Bay Wicklow at our caravan and some of the endless beach days associated with it, along with the blue skies!
February 2nd/3rd 2009: I have video evidence recorded on this day of snow falling in Dublin. It started to fall around evening time of the 2nd, with my siblings and friends and I playing in it as my mother recorded, you could tell snow wasn't all that common as we had to leave to bring my siblings to piano lessons and my mother says "it'll be here when we get back!... I hope." Thankfully the snow did stay, and we got a decently small covering on the 3rd that morning. I also recall being in school and heavy snow started to pour, and the school closing early.
January 2010: I remember the lake being frozen over briefly near my house, and I went sledding with my friends, but for some reason my memory found this period quite forgettable.
November 27th 2010: This day warrants it's own discussion, I was completely oblivious to the idea of how weather worked as I was 8. I remember waking up to my older sibling screaming at me to look out the window, and lo-and-behold, there was a crisp blanket of snow on the ground and a bright blue sky above... I was in SHOCK. My family and I went sledding that day and I also recall it was a Saturday and I went to drama class, but on the way home my father tried to turn into our cul-de-sac in our 2002 Rav 4 and spun out!
December 2010: The entire month was exceptional and probably something I will never witness again in my lifetime. Despite making the best of it, I greedily thought Ireland had this as typical weather (due to 2008/9 and Jan 2010 already giving us a lot of snow events). December 1st or 2nd had my first experience of thundersnow as I walked up to the shop with my mother, I had never seen such silvery/dark clouds before. I did not attend school between November 30th to January 2011 because my location made it impossible to get there. My school decided to shut most of the time anyway because of freezing pipes. I recall the text message on December 20th from my school saying it would be remained shut for term and happy holidays! I have many video's documenting this time, including a video taken by one of my parents on December 23rd of the snowfall in our area.
December 23rd 2010: This day in particular stood out to me, the flakes were extremely fat that evening as we had more streamers, or a possible LP I am unsure, my main memory that evening was watching the Wizard of Oz on the telly in the sitting room watching it snow, and suddenly a huge rumble occurred, and screams from my siblings and their friends running back to the comfort of the house (they were sledding outside). This would be the second time I experienced thundersnow.
October 24th 2011: Despite 2010's influence, the lasting impression of the 2011 flooding in Dublin ignited the fire in my curiosity towards weather events. As a child I started to grow accustom to loving snow, but I never thought much about rain events. This changed on October 24th, at 9 years old when my father and I went out to help cars stuck from the flooding of the Dodder. I recall the a fire engine driving through this deep area of water, and the cars parked outside the apartment block beside my area literally bobbing in the water. The sheer extent of the flooding caught me by surprise, as I saw some idiot in a 2009 BMW risk it all and drive into the deep water, and his car dying midway down the road. I learnt the next day of Dundrum flooding, and spent the evening glued to Youtube watching Dundrum flooding videos.
July 2012: Just a small one here, I remember the very poor summer weather, and the endless rainy days in our caravan in Wicklow, one of which caused my Auntie's car to get stuck in the over-saturated soil! We had to help push her car out in the pouring rain, it felt like it was going to never end that summer.
March 2013: The SSW event gave some hefty snowfalls in my area, with me recording them on my Ipod touch as I hadn't seen so much snow since 2010! I recall the heavy flakes and decent covering, although otherwise forgettable and didn't last very long.
July 24th 2013: This was my first proper thunderstorm I can recall in my life. I had been travelling up and down from Dublin to Wicklow that summer as per usual, and when we arrived home to Dublin the night of the 24th, the heavens opened and I saw the most spectacular lightning storm ever. Up until this point, I was actually quite afraid of thunder and lightning, but that night I saw something beautiful with the constant streaks, flashes and heavy rain. This was truly a night to remember for me.
July 18th 2014: I feel this was a very localised thunderstorm, so if you remember this please let me know, I have photo proof of this event too. I recall waking up randomly at 5am with my heart beating a little quicker than usual. I was very confused because at this point I was hitting puberty and I really loved my long sleeping in, so waking up at 5am confused me... until I heard the thunder and got a fright. My mother and oldest sibling awoke to the storm, which felt like it was circulating the Brittas area over and over. We stayed up watching the storm from 5-7am scared for our lives in this small tin caravan with a dense forest behind us. My mother was afraid of a tree falling on the caravan from the lightning strike!
December 3rd 2015: One of the wettest days I have experienced, with over 50mm (I think) falling in my area throughout the entire day, the Dodder slightly burst its banks but it wasn't the same level as 2011. I recall going out and watching the river later that evening after I finished my homework and secretly wishing the Dodder would burst as it was on the verge.
October 8th/9th/10th 2017: I remember the weekend before this, watching Leo Veradkar going to the emergency meeting hosted by Met Éireann and feeling excited by the possibility of a hurricane, I wouldn't have thought in a million years Ireland would get one (although I do recall storm Debbie in the 60s). I was in my friends bedroom when we got the red warning for Hurricane Ophelia, 'yippie no school!' we rejoiced, the first time we'd had a school cancel since 2010. My friend and I went on a walk that evening around our area, eerily quiet with no wind. The next morning I watched radars and saw a lot of damages, including in my own area with a decent amount of fallen trees. I remember I had to tie up the bins with rope so they wouldn't fly away! The day after the storm it was bright and sunny, sort of like after a typhoon hits China or Japan. I went to hang out with my friends because we had another day off school and I went around and took photos on my phone, this is when I started to want to document weather events.
December 10th 2017: I have a bittersweet memory in this event. Dublin ended up with really grim rain from the event as winds veered east and onshore wind became a problem, making it just warm enough for rain to occur. However, I was lucky enough to experience the snowfall on this day as my father and I went up towards Sally gap and we had a huge snowball fight. The snow was quite deep where we parked and I was able to enjoy the snow and snowfall for a couple of hours.
February 27th/28th 2018: At this point I had started posting here on the boards, and was fortunate enough to meet my very important and cherished friend (you know who you are). They had taught me a lot about weather patterns and chart reading that I was prepared enough to understand how the weather world and Irish climate now worked. On February 27th I had just finished my 3rd year mock exams, knowing how tomorrow was possibly going to play out, glued to the boards when I got home, and preparing myself for a little extended holiday treat after finishing my exams. The days preceding this I recall a very crisp cold sunny sky and a blue hue in the evening as the sun set (which I also have photos of may I add). I set up a time-lapse that night on my Ipad to record the start of the Beast from the East snow event and slept barely a wink as I watched it snow all night. The next day (28th) I went out on a 4 hour walk and documented everything I could in my area from the snow the night before. I then went sledding in bushy park with my friends and noticed the lake was frozen over.
March 1st-4th 2018: The Beast from the East was certainly a surprise in some aspects, mainly how much snow I got. I recorded upwards of 40cm in my garden, eventually being snowed into my own home, I couldn't walk further than 4 minutes down the road without the snow being up to my knees and out of breath! The snowfall on March 2nd was fat and fluffy, with many video recordings taken. I recall on the 2nd I sat outside my cul-de-sac and watched cars drive by and slip & slide, there was this interesting blue hue and the sun was setting that evening during the snowstorm I enjoyed. This period was an excellent de-stressor for me after the exams and I cherished every second of it, especially Snowstorm Emma, I don't think I will ever get to experience a snowstorm like that again in my lifetime, or before I'm 50 anyway. 2010 may have won in longevity, but 2018 won in terms of severe-ness and snow depth.
May-July 2018: The summer of 2018 was a real treat after the Beast from the East. I recall the weather being so good that we went down to our holiday home in May to take in the good weather, however I was stressed with Exams. I do recall the Cork thunderstorm on May 28th, I went to Northern Ireland that day, but I missed the flashes seen in Dublin as I fell asleep at 10pm! I recall the very warm sunny June month during my Junior Cert as the grass started to get browner and browner. That summer I visited Italy, where the LP was, and experienced some excellent thunderstorms including a massive one the day before we left (all recorded by the way).
March 3rd 2019: This is a small event only really witnessed by those in the midlands and the East coast, but the rapid cooling that took place on this day created a winter wonderland I won't forget. It was the first time I had experienced a rain-to-snow event in my life. A tile of our roof broke and water started to leak into the wall behind the TV of my house, and as my father was frantically fixing it to stop any electrical damage, the rain started to transition to heavy snow! The snow stuck around for a couple of hours and it was a nice treat to experience, coincidentally around the same time as the BFTE the year prior.
August 9th 2019: This is a small one, but Dublin had an absolutely massive thunder and lightning episode for a brief moment during a downpour. I recall going to close my blinds in my siblings room at 3:45am when this huge flash of lightning blinded me, making me fall back onto the bed. Then the loudest thunder I have ever heard rumbled and made me go into shock. I recall some people on the boards claiming it sounded like an atomic bomb! The strike was directly over Tallaght, and was so loud that it rattled windows and set off car/house alarms. (You can watch it here as there is a recording - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOHzphY-KU8&ab_channel=JasReview)
April/May 2020: Despite the horrible hell of lockdown, one thing that helped me get through this gloomy time was the exceptional weather, with the crisp blue skies lasting for days and the bounty-full walks I went on to help pass the boredom of being stuck at home during 5th year. Even if this time didn't stand out in it's extremes, I look back on it fondly as a time for appreciating my area, the excellent cherry blossom season that year and the warm sunny days which aided my mental health.
June 26th 2020: Thunderstorms that night had been rolling through Ireland, but I was about to give up hope radar watching at 4am, slowly falling asleep when I heard a roll of thunder happen. I proceeded to get up and record one of the best lightning strikes I have recorded to date and enjoy a small thunder and lightning storm for the guts of 1 1/2 hours. (Video can be seen here - https://twitter.com/vxlks/status/1276358016443523075)
December 2020: The colder than average December gave way to some lovely frost and fog events that I cherish, as stated by others, the near ice day on December 6th 2020 is one to note, a real seasonable time of year for the Christmas occasion. I recall many nights where puddles froze over and you could see your breath pretty much daily. Some days frost didn't melt if it was sheltered, particularly towards the middle-end of December, although I am not entirely certain on the date.
July 2021: This heatwave came out of nowhere to me, as I hadn't been model watching that summer, since I was doing my Leaving Cert. I recall a friend (you know who you are, AGAIN) telling me to get off my PC and go outside to enjoy the sunshine. I certainly made the most of that extreme heat spell that felt like it went on forever, as I took my 6th year holiday to Cork and Cobh, perfectly in the middle of the heatwave, felt like we were in Spain for cheaper! We had absolutely no rain during the trip and even went fishing and swimming in Cobh. When we went to Cork, we stayed in a cheap hostel and by god, the heat in those rooms was grim from those humid nights.
July 17th/18th 2022: I was very excited with the prospect of Ireland reached 33C, I remember going out on the 17th to Burrow beach with a couple friends and watching the red sunset. The next day I went walking in Marlay park to soak in the sun and warmth, although I felt it was so warm that you were better off in a pool or in your house. I tried to hike Ticknock but turned around immediately when I was already halfway through my first bottle of water 10 minutes in.
October 19th 2022: My first October thunderstorm I can recall. I was in work taking out the bins when I turned the corner of the garage and saw it bucketing rain. I quickly ran out to put the bins in the dump and ran back inside soaking. I then caught a glimpse of the huge lightning streak across the sky and the huge rumble of thunder after. This was the first classic thunderstorm I had seen since July 2013 as flashes were semi-frequent and the rain was heavy.
I think that just about sums up the experiences I've had in Irish weather from what I can recall in my 20 years on this island, here's to many more fun weather events in the future!
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My first winter out here I made a snowman on the drive... ot sure what year. There was barely enough snow for it... The ferryman told me about in that "snow winter" when I was up in the Bluestacks, they were shovelling snow out of the ferry ( a 12 seater open curragh). Even getting to the pier would have been an accomplishment.. But tractors are amazing. Once in Orkney the lorry with the snowplough at the front got stuck on the lane and it was a tractor saved the day. It was just on front of my house and a wonderful "show!" At night I used to stand at my door in moonlight gazing at the scene .....snow on snow as far as you could see, and the "Merrie Dancers" lighting the sky. An elemental timeless scene.
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Wow TTLF, your a very enthusiastic weather nerd, great record keeping. I think it all starts with days off school for snowfall events and then it snowballs from there, excuse the pun. Then it moves to storms of all sorts, mine was the Great Storm in England in October 1987. That's the one that got me hooked. Get working on that calendar Grace !
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That walk home from school in thick fog haunts me. We cope when it happens! There were about five of us, and the phrase not being able to see your hand in front of your face applies. Industrial Lancashire in the 1950s.... Smog. It was across bare open farmland. Just ordinary outdoor clothes. Blind! No footpaths.
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Have a wonderful winter out there Graces7.
St Francis had that great sense to know that all things happen for a reason and that no good effort goes to naught regardless what obstacles are put in the way. We do not take to ourselves the gifts we receive but pass them on as information sharing in all things small and great.
Take care of yourself.
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Let you into a secret.. I LOVE all weather and especially what folk call " bad weather"!!! Love deluges, storms, snowfall... and far happier then than in boring summer days of sun.... Half past five here am and the rain is battering the roof ( in a glorified trailer) and making me an integral part of it all,,, Later I wll see the dawn slowly slowly shining light ... And when it snows!!!! I lived up in the Outer Orkneys for a decade and OH MY! The snow and the gales.. One recorded 124 MILES per hour gusts and I had livestock to feed, SORRY; old lady and her memories!!!
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Severe thunderstorms of August 31 2005. Forecast was for only thundery showers that day but that afternoon we had one of the loudest thunderstorms I have ever experienced in Limerick and some of the heaviest rain as well. Looks like it was a modified spanish plume. Low pressure system from bay of biscay moved to Southeast Ireland and was still deepening. Thunderstorms developed ahead of its slow moving cold front that pushed across ireland. Strong wind sheer ahead of that low pressure system.
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January 1974 I was born and there was a vicious storm that knocked out power in the hospital
Summers in the 70s as a kid generally remember it being dry lots.
Summers 1983 and 1984 remember sweating at times as temperatures neared 30c for a few days
Summers 1985 and 1986 remember it raining and raining and raining and the priests praying for fine weather which came in September
The 90s remember a few very mild Winters especially 1998. Not much snow that decade but we did have a white Christmas in 1995.
Summer 1995 remember it 25 to 30c on many many days and August being sunny right through.
Late December 2000 blizzards in the West several inches of snow in many counties.
That's far enough
Of course the Christmas storms mentioned above and the loss if power for days. Having pints in candlelit pubs and paying into wide open tills. Weren't we fierce honest.
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