Weather memories

Christmas Eve, I'm looking out the window into the darkness, to see if there's any sign of Santa and the sleigh. Suddenly, large flakes of snow started to fall. After some great excitement, I was hooshed up to bed, or else Santa wouldn't deliver our presents. Next morning woke up to presents and a winter wonderland. I think this was Christmas 1962, so I'd have been 7. My date is based on looking up info on White Christmases for those years. This was in Birmingham, not sure what was happening in Ireland. So, despite not remembering the date, my memory of that night looking out at the heavily falling snow is as vivid now as it was then. Snow on Christmas Eve night when your 7? - OF COURSE there's a Santa.

The Summers of 1975 and 1976. Scorchers and no talk of climate change.

lots of weather memories, probably too many to put in a single post but here goes ....

the BIG one Jan 1982, summer 1983, July 1985 terrifying storm, Hurricane Charlie Aug 1986, the Siberian pipe burster Jan 1987, summer 1989, winter of 1991/2 when there was no weather for three months (bad), summer 1995, Feb 28 2001 snowfall, August 2003 (on holliers in Wexford), Christmas Day 2009, the only occasion I have ever seen freezing rain, January and December 2010 and the only white Christmas I have ever seen, summer 2022 for the fine August we have waited so long for! ..........

PS. July 2013 deserves a mention after a run of dreadful summers.

The evening floods in Dublin of 24th October 2011.

Being stuck on the M50 for hours as the dip near Marlay Park literally filled up, Dundrum Town Centre turned into one big water feature, the River Slang burst its banks down at Windy Arbour, taking a pal's business with it.

If I recall correctly, we had something like 84mm of rain in 3 hours or so, which led to the overwhelming of normal drainage as above. Unfortunately one lady drowned in a residential basement somewhere in the south city.

Part 2.

The east coast continuous lightning for several days, October 2003 (see below)

The night of November 27/28 2010 and east coast all night lightning, more thunder hail than snow but I’ll always remember those blue flashes. That spell really began in style!

ok, this one isn’t about the weather but it is about looking up at the sky, about a week later there was a spectacular Aurora Borealis so Oct ‘03 really stands out in my memory.

My weather memories only go back to the late 90s.

Christmas Eve 1997 - Worst wind storm I can remember in my lifetime in North East Wicklow. I remember struggling to open the car door such was the force of the wind. I also remember my folks stocking up on candles in case we were in the dark for Christmas. Thankfully the power remained on.

St. Stephen's Day 1998 - Another windy one. Not as bad as 1997 but it did manage to rip our trellis off the wall.

September/October 2003 - Not sure on the exact date but early on when I was in 4th year in school I remember getting the bus around 8am and seeing lightning over the sea and thunder. The lightning and thunder continued on all day. Then the heavens opened around 1pm and flooded the back of the school resulting in us getting the rest of the day off and the next day off too.

July 2006 - The wall to wall sunshine and the heat. Unfortunately that was followed by a rubbish dull August.

Winter 2009/2010 - Started off cold around mid December. My brother's 30th birthday was on New Year's eve and I remember it snowing in Dublin that night. I also recall the snow around February 2010 resulting in major disruption to rail services.

November - December 2010: The prolonged cold and snow was unreal. Got around a week off college due to the snow. I remember the slipping and sliding on the ice to mass on Christmas Day that year.

October 24th 2011 - The extremely heavy rain that fell in the east resulting in an emergency being called in Dublin due to flooding.

Late February to Early March 2018 - The beast from the east meeting Emma from the South bringing a rare 2 day red level warning. Everything was closed here for two days.

Summer 2018 - Sun and heat started in mid to late May and continued unabated until August. Spent most evenings and weekends swimming in the sea that summer. Truly a summer to remember.

I believe it was due to an errant warm front that, instead of clearing away ,moved up and down over Munster for two or three days.

As I'm only a millennium child, I didn't get to experience the same fantastic events or seasons many did here such as summer '95 or January 1982 blizzard. However, here's a selection of mine.

1. White Christmas of 2004. I don't remember it as I was only 4 years of age but I woke up to a dusting on my playhouse that I got that same christmas. It is the only technical white Christmas of my lifetime of snow falling on the day in my area.
2. July 2006. My earliest weather memory. Spent it in a mobile home in Donabate that we also had for the summer of 2005. Felt humid often and close but beach days seemed endless, helped by the fact I was literally by the sea. Likely my favourite summer month up until June 2018.
3. November 2009. Was spared the worst of this horrific infamous deluge month unlike say Cork but was fascinated by the extremity of it. I had not seen as wet a month for Ireland as of that point. Remember vividly doing an all nighter on Halloween 2009 and it started to lash like 2am on Nov 1st, it would end up setting the scene for the entire month.
4. January 2010. Of course this had to be given a mention. Wonderful first 10 days. Very cold and at times snowy, especially on the 9th for my local area. The rest of it was pretty forgettable.
5. November/December 2010. I endlessly praise this period and will continue to do so 'til the day I die. People probably fed up of me doing so! The first few days of November were a write off, mild damp gunk. Then a vigorous depression that looked massive on forecasts pushed down from the northwest on the 7th and it sank to our SE by the 9th - a very strange low evolution for November. Young innocent sryanbruen watching the regular Sunday BBC week ahead forecast uploaded to YouTube on the 21st. Remember it being presented by Laura Tobin showing winds coming from a long way northeast and the colours going very blue by the Friday over Ireland with a chance of snow. I was like ah sure that won't happen. Maybe a bit of sleet and lots of crisp sunshine. Friday 26th Nov comes, oh look I was right, just sunshine and no snow. I didn't watch the forecasts coming up to this. Then overnight into the 27th the first Irish Sea streamers arrived as the wind became more east and less directly north. There was THUNDER involved with these streamers too, which DIDN'T wake me up! I woke up around 9 am to the whole place glittering in white against the blue sky. I was absolutely delighted. The covering wasn't huge but it was a pretty darn decent one of a couple of cm and Dublin Airport runway had to close. Much of it did turn to slush later in the day but more fell overnight into the 28th. The 28th Nov 2010 was a historic day. Lots of snow everywhere across Dublin, even along the beaches. The place was frozen too, it was an ice day. The only November ice day on record here and all-time November record lows for Ireland were set into the 29th. Dew points went above freezing temporarily later on the 29th and melted the snow but the snow returned big time on the 30th with lots falling. I remember being in school on this day and was sent home early. It was very dark. Gerry Murphy was malfunctioning with forecasting 10-20cm of sneachta to fall from the 30th into 1st Dec instead of shleet (just joking of course about the malfunctioning part). 1st Dec I remember getting absolutely pummelled in a neighbourhood snowball fight. I don't have as vivid memories of the rest of the days without the stats/pics minus the fact I had 2 separate colds in December but those didn't take away from the fact I loved the month and of course the deep snow on Christmas Day with cloudless blue sky. I was in like a total of 4 days of school from the 29th Nov 2010 to 10th Jan 2011. The time of year, ignoring the whole exceptional nature of it, was the best part of it all for me. My favourite event without a doubt bar none.
6. March/April 2011. An amazing pair of months to start spring 2011. March 2011 was just your wonderful Irish spring month though many don't remember it compared to March 2012. April 2011 provided a massive contrast to the prior December from extreme negative NAO in the Dec to extreme positive NAO in the Apr, both were among the most extreme on both ends of the scale. April 2011 would end up being our summer of 2011 though with JJA 2011 being notably cool. I remember the gorse fires across the country late in the month early into May from all the warm and dry weather.
7. July 2013. Along with the late 2010 spell for winter, I think July 2013 is the modern golden standard for summer for many judging by what has been said on here over the years. After the cold spring, I was longing for a change. Sure enough, graduated from primary school in late June 2013 and just over a week later, a big change did happen. Ridging from the Azores approached Ireland on the 4th of July and it just got warmer and warmer then a heatwave happened with lots of warmth and sunshine over the following 2 weeks before a thundery breakdown later in the month. Remember having a small paddling pool and a couple of beach days but otherwise nothing stands out that much from this month for me personally memories wise. I was asleep for the thunderstorm too, so that's 2 storms I've missed due to sleep; Nov 2010 and Jul 2013!
8. February/March 2018... the famous Beast from the East and Storm Emma. Well forecast in advance thanks to an amazing major sudden stratospheric warming. Whilst exceptional and memorable, I can't help but express frustration at this spell every time I think of it because of the time of year it occurred. Nonetheless, it was surreal. Went for a stroll through the blizzard on the Friday night 2nd of March. The sky was a strange purple hue. Deep drifts everywhere but unlike other places, I got off lucky as it was still ok to walk unlike my friend in the south side who couldn't get out of his estate.
9. May to July 2018. Let's ignore and forget August 2018... this is definitely the best summer of my lifetime. Unfortunately I was sick through most of spring 2018 but I improved towards the end of May and as luck would have it, the weather became wonderful. An area of high pressure became a semi permanent feature of the weather for nearly two months. Very little measurable rain falling, lots of sunshine and plenty of pleasant warmth. June 2018 was a stunner; less than 5mm of rain, over 1-2 degrees above avg and nearly 270 hours of sun 👌
10. Spring 2020. We don't talk about what followed this epic season but what a blessing this season was during grim times with lockdown. I was fortunate to have the beach in my close vicinity. I would regularly go for beach strolls enjoying the what seemed like endless sunshine. This season and lockdown really made me appreciate what I had within reach without the need to go very far. May 2020 nearly 300 hours of sunshine and less than 10mm of rain, as golden as June 2018 and only two years later.
11. April 2021. A month that is heavily underrated for how cold it was. It was a blessing for me. I am a lover of cold nights and this month was packed to the brim with them plus very sunny with lots of clear days. Remember winter 2020-21 lockdown restrictions eased on 12th April and we were greeted with a run of fine weather. The days become reasonably pleasant after the first week. I particularly remember this month for the Poolbeg Lighthouse sunrises when it seemed like every morning, there was a group of photographers getting the sun to line up with the lighthouse or surroundings from Sandymount. Can't blame them as skies were very clear as previously mentioned.
12. July 2021. This heatwave amazes me in many ways. How it came so out of the blue in an otherwise pretty mediocre month and how clear the skies were. I set out a goal to do every sunrise and sunset during the heatwave. I successfully did almost one week of it before I gave up as I was far too tired. It was the first time I did a swimrise too and man was it so relaxing. Then those warm evenings were bliss. I didn't even find the nights that bad, granted they were cooler here than what a lot had. I consider this the most random heatwave ever but it shows what is possible if you get a good ridge from the Azores!
13. August 2022. The long awaited good August and it was a stunner with a cracking spell of summer weather for the second year in a row, as good as that of July 2021. Another notable spell for the clear skies. Seen a superb display of noctilucent clouds as late as the 11th which I haven't seen reports of a display like this late before I started observing them a few years ago. The thunderstorm at the end of the heatwave was a bit of a flop and went offshore but some nice flashes and strikes over the sea nonetheless that I seen.

A few other random notes:

• Autumn 2021 colours were the best I seen in years. A lot of leaves still on trees by mid-November. The combination of a cold April/May with a warm autumn and reduced gales allowed this to happen.
• The seemingly large frequency of days of fog (not based on fact, pure observation) from November 2020 to September 2021 including the well-remembered near miss ice day on 6 December 2020.
• Although July 2020 was atrociously cloudy, the month had the brightest comet in our skies since Hale-Bopp in 1997 with Neowise. When gaps in the cloud were there, Neowise was spectacular. On 11th July, I was also treated with a very bright type-V noctilucent cloud display that I thought was going to make Neowise invisible but fortunately not.

Memories only really go back to the turn of the millennium. Plenty of memories from my parents of snowy winters gone by back in the 70s and 80s, and my grandmother who remembered the winter of 1962-63 (when there was snow on the ground in Waterford for six weeks apparently).

• December 2000, vague memories of building a snowman with my grandparents in Cork around Christmastime or just afterwards + seeing lots of ice on the wooden fences around the house. One my first childhood memories, as it happens.
• The heatwave in summer 2003, I remember the thermometer in my mam's car getting over 30C. Apparently the weather in Ireland was quite hazy but I remember there being a lot of sunshine.
• I remember being told about the heatwave in 2006 but I was living out of the country with my family at the time. I do remember coming back shortly afterwards and seeing burnt grass patches everywhere, and obsessively looking up the forecasts back home for the novelty of 27/28C being shown for Ireland :D
• The brief snowy weather that hit Drogheda (and much of the northeast) in early January 2008. Snow appeared pretty much out of nowhere one afternoon and didn't stop all evening, there was about half a foot on the ground by morning. I remember taking a trip to Dublin early the next morning and it was bone dry, the snow never made it that far south.
• Christmastime 2009, when the first cold weather began to hit Ireland that winter. Was down in Kerry with the family and the place was idyllic, freezing but really dry and sunny. Then went back up the country for the snow to arrive almost bang at midnight on New Year's Eve, bringing in the new decade. :)
• December 2010 hardly needs explaining. Only came back to Ireland for the Christmas period but the flight back was held up for hours by snow at Dublin Airport. Really winter wonderland-like conditions, never seen anything like that in Ireland before or since. At that time of year as well, it felt really special and seasonal. Can still remember how silent it was walking in the snow at night. Was happy I got to experience that at least once!
• A massive thunderstorm in Cork at some stage in June 2012, incredibly powerful. There was flooding in loads of places all over the city the next day.
• The cold snap in March 2013, I remember silently fuming all evening as the snow streamers pasted Waterford with six inches of snow and they all died out by the time they got to Cork. :/
• The warm summer in July 2013, the first of many that decade it turned out.
• The winter of 2013-14, storm after storm for what felt like weeks on end. There was a lot of flooding in the centre of Cork if I remember.
• Hurricane Ophelia, October 2017, all the panic and the warning systems, almost like a forerun of lockdown. And DCU tweeting Leo Varadkar asking if they were a college!
• Storm Emma and the Beast from the East, what an amazing 3/4 days. I probably remember the buildup more than anything else, after so many heartbreaks you just expected the models to fail, but they finally delivered. And so many memories. Seeing snowdrifts at sea level in a seaside part of Dublin. Going to the local shop and witnessing a stampede as the Brennan's bread truck pulled up! The late night powercut as I was following the thread on Boards. And seeing an actual blizzard in person in Ireland! Was great to live through, even if it was brief.
• The heatwave that summer, felt like it went on forever. I remember seeing Lambay Island from the Dart one day and thinking it was so brown it could've been the south of Spain.
• I moved to Belgium at the end of 2019. Biggest memory here so far was the cold snap in February 2021. Proper continental cold, temperatures fell to about -14C at night, barely climbed to -5C in the day, and the snow lasted for well over a week. The lake in the local park froze solid and people were walking on it. Made lockdown a bit more bearable tbh.
• Finally, the last few summers back in Ireland. This one in particular was stunning, especially the prolonged heat in August. I don't ever remember it getting that hot in Cork, at the end it got up to 30C for a couple of days I think.

There's a few others I can't pin a date to but those really stood out for me! We might resent the weather in Ireland a lot of the time but when everything falls into place it can really deliver!