Is there ever a whole sunny day in Ireland?

armabelle · 06-04-2016 4:32pm #1

I know the weather in Ireland is bad but I didn't know it was going to be so bad and being new here (arrived in Jan) I have not seen one whole sunny day except for once about 6 weeks ago when it was cold as hell and it was only one day. Does it get better ever?

doolox · 06-04-2016 4:52pm

On the East Coast they get about 200 rainy days a year. The west Coast gets 300 rainy days a year. A good weather pattern depends on when you get your average of 40 depressions ( rain ) and 7 highs ( dry ) in any year. You should hope to get your high pressure events in June or July or August as this will bring warm sunny weather ( Warm = about 20 deg C ). Getting these highs in winter = frost, temps below 0 degrees. In order to have a mild frost free winter you should hope to have most of the depressions happening in the winter from Nov to March.

If the opposite happens and you get a series of depressions in the Summer then you can have very wet cold and useless summer where everyone has to stay indoors, stuff is hard to dry and gets mouldy you have to dry your laundry indoors all the time and get mould everywhere and everyone is in a foul mood.....

Because of its unpredictable weather Ireland has a very high rate of suicide, alcoholism, depression and people not inclined to plan too far ahead. Outdoor activities are not as plentiful as in other better countries and tend to be very active, hurling our national team sport is among the fastest games in the world. People play fast to stay warm. Our national dance is also very fast.

Whisky in Ireland and Scotland is known as the water of life as it was considered a lifesaver in the days before decent housing and central heating. The russians with their even more appalling climate have a similar calamatous relationship with alcohol due to the need to keep warm by any means possible.

Irelands climate is similar to the US northwest coast, Washington State and Oregan, dominated by rain. Also parts of the European low countries England and Scotland have rainy, depressing weather.

armabelle · 06-04-2016 4:57pm

doolox wrote: »

On the East Coast they get about 200 rainy days a year. The west Coast gets 300 rainy days a year. A good weather pattern depends on when you get your average of 40 depressions ( rain ) and 7 highs ( dry ) in any year. You should hope to get your high pressure events in June or July or August as this will bring warm sunny weather ( Warm = about 20 deg C ). Getting these highs in winter = frost, temps below 0 degrees. In order to have a mild frost free winter you should hope to have most of the depressions happening in the winter from Nov to March.

If the opposite happens and you get a series of depressions in the Summer then you can have very wet cold and useless summer where everyone has to stay indoors, stuff is hard to dry and gets mouldy you have to dry your laundry indoors all the time and get mould everywhere and everyone is in a foul mood.....

Because of its unpredictable weather Ireland has a very high rate of suicide, alcoholism, depression and people not inclined to plan too far ahead. Outdoor activities are not as plentiful as in other better countries and tend to be very active, hurling our national team sport is among the fastest games in the world. People play fast to stay warm. Our national dance is also very fast.

Whisky in Ireland and Scotland is known as the water of life as it was considered a lifesaver in the days before decent housing and central heating. The russians with their even more appalling climate have a similar calamatous relationship with alcohol due to the need to keep warm by any means possible.

Irelands climate is similar to the US northwest coast, Washington State and Oregan, dominated by rain. Also parts of the European low countries England and Scotland have rainy, depressing weather.

booking ticket... must find sunshine

saywhatyousee · 06-04-2016 5:09pm

doolox wrote: »

On the East Coast they get about 200 rainy days a year. The west Coast gets 300 rainy days a year. A good weather pattern depends on when you get your average of 40 depressions ( rain ) and 7 highs ( dry ) in any year. You should hope to get your high pressure events in June or July or August as this will bring warm sunny weather ( Warm = about 20 deg C ). Getting these highs in winter = frost, temps below 0 degrees. In order to have a mild frost free winter you should hope to have most of the depressions happening in the winter from Nov to March.

If the opposite happens and you get a series of depressions in the Summer then you can have very wet cold and useless summer where everyone has to stay indoors, stuff is hard to dry and gets mouldy you have to dry your laundry indoors all the time and get mould everywhere and everyone is in a foul mood.....

Because of its unpredictable weather Ireland has a very high rate of suicide, alcoholism, depression and people not inclined to plan too far ahead. Outdoor activities are not as plentiful as in other better countries and tend to be very active, hurling our national team sport is among the fastest games in the world. People play fast to stay warm. Our national dance is also very fast.

Whisky in Ireland and Scotland is known as the water of life as it was considered a lifesaver in the days before decent housing and central heating. The russians with their even more appalling climate have a similar calamatous relationship with alcohol due to the need to keep warm by any means possible.

Irelands climate is similar to the US northwest coast, Washington State and Oregan, dominated by rain. Also parts of the European low countries England and Scotland have rainy, depressing weather.

Irelands suicide rate is ranked 22 of 28 countries in the EU and between 58 and 62 in the world depending on which survey you use hardly one of the highest in the world

peneau · 06-04-2016 5:13pm

armabelle wrote: »

I know the weather in Ireland is bad but I didn't know it was going to be so bad and being new here (arrived in Jan) I have not seen one whole sunny day except for once about 6 weeks ago when it was cold as hell and it was only one day. Does it get better ever?

Well there was about 3 months of them in the summer of '76

intheclouds · 06-04-2016 5:21pm

peneau wrote: »

Well there was about 3 months of them in the summer of '76

Summer of '95.

I missed it actually because I was away off working on a J1 visa (I had plenty of sun!) - but every phone call home was dominated with talk of the great weather.

This has been a particularly long cold spring imo though. Im not usually still in my full on winter coat in April.

doolox · 06-04-2016 5:27pm

I did the Leaving Cert in the Summer of '76 and it was a scorcher. Long June days in the 30's and stuck inside all day writing rubbish about Shakespeare, irregular verbs and other rubbish to keep the civil service happy.......

I also recall 1984 as being a good one but 1986 was very wet. Also 1995 was good but 1996 or 97 was also very wet.

armabelle · 06-04-2016 5:43pm

intheclouds wrote: »

This has been a particularly long cold spring imo though. Im not usually still in my full on winter coat in April.

thats what they always say:(

gozunda · 06-04-2016 5:44pm

armabelle wrote: »

... Does it get better ever?

No

Magico Gonzalez · 06-04-2016 5:46pm

See that big lump of sea to the west, that's the Atlantic. You're sitting on the first little country on the North Atlantic shore

Cue clouds and rain, but not much really cold weather.

This can't be news to anyone.

Victor · 06-04-2016 5:47pm

armabelle wrote: »

Is there ever a whole sunny day in Ireland?

Not at night.

Clear winter days tend to be colder than other winter days. Clear summer days tend to be warmer than other winter days. Part of this will be down to where winds are coming from, while the rest is down to solar gain / heat loss.

JCX BXC · 06-04-2016 5:54pm

You'll get a few in June July and August, don't worry!

Timberrrrrrrr · 06-04-2016 5:59pm

armabelle wrote: »

I know the weather in Ireland is bad but I didn't know it was going to be so bad and being new here (arrived in Jan) I have not seen one whole sunny day except for once about 6 weeks ago when it was cold as hell and it was only one day. Does it get better ever?

Yes but it was way back nineteen-dickety-two.We had to say dickety because the Kaiser had stolen our word twenty. I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles. What are you cackling at, fatty? Too much pie, that's your problem! Now, I'd like to digress from my prepared remarks to discuss how I invented the terlet...

anothernight · 06-04-2016 5:59pm

armabelle wrote: »

I know the weather in Ireland is bad but I didn't know it was going to be so bad and being new here (arrived in Jan) I have not seen one whole sunny day except for once about 6 weeks ago when it was cold as hell and it was only one day. Does it get better ever?

I moved to Ireland years ago from a sunny country. It was June. The day we landed in Dublin, it was very cold (to me, anyway) and overcast. That summer my town saw rain every day except for three days. I don't remember there being much sunshine either and everything looked grey and depressing.

But you know what? The Irish climate is actually pretty good, once you get used to it. It's a bit of a shock if you come from a sunny and (too) hot mediterranean country, but after a few months it's fine. It's only April and you've probably had a few partially sunny days. Give it another month or so and it'll be a lot better. The good thing is that it never gets too hot, so you can enjoy the sunshine and warmer temperature without feeling like you never want to see the sun again. And after all the rain, everything looks extra pretty on sunny days!

(Yeah, my first summer in Ireland was definitely an exception.)

saywhatyousee wrote: »

Irelands suicide rate is ranked 22 of 28 countries in the EU and between 58 and 62 in the world depending on which survey you use hardly one of the highest in the world

I think they're confusing it with the suicide rate for young people, which is indeed one of the highest in the EU. I think it's now the 5th highest for both genders though, as it's slowly dropping as far as I know.

youreadthat · 06-04-2016 6:16pm

Well you've not even experienced the two warmest seasons yet (Summer-Autumn). I can't promise a great summer though as...well... the jet stream is often unkind on Ireland. Last year it was anchored over it and the only place in Britain or Ireland that ended up with a solid summer was South East and Eastern England, which was lucky for me!

demanufactured · 06-04-2016 6:20pm

There was one this one time in 2009.

dr.fuzzenstein · 06-04-2016 6:23pm

Oneiric 3 · 06-04-2016 7:14pm

doolox wrote: »

Because of its unpredictable weather Ireland has a very high rate of suicide, alcoholism, depression and people not inclined to plan too far ahead.

The weather NOTHING to do with the high suicide rate in this country. Perhaps mentioning that we living under a corrupt, self-serving establishment might be closer to the mark. Perhaps it would be more apt to mention a culture where alcohol excess is endorsed and celebrated, despite the fact that it destroys more lives, directly and indirectly, than smoking actually does. Or maybe the high suicide rate in the country is due to societal pressures, to live up to standards that cannot ever be achieved in reality. Or maybe it is down to the unspoken rules to conform to a cultural norm that refuses to stretch its bounds outside the limits of soul destroying mediocrity.

The suggest that the high suicide rate is down the Irish climate is both naive and misleading.

JCX BXC · 06-04-2016 7:35pm

Suicides can be attributed to the Irish Culture, overwhelmingly destroying personal debts and the lack of social activities in many rural areas. The weather does nothing more than put people in a bad mood.

eeguy · 06-04-2016 7:37pm

Youll get two good weeks when the Leaving Cert is on. Everything else is miserable

Ave Sodalis · 06-04-2016 7:55pm

Carnacalla wrote:

Suicides can be attributed to the Irish Culture, overwhelmingly destroying personal debts and the lack of social activities in many rural areas. The weather does nothing more than put people in a bad mood.

It should also be pointed out that suicides are more likely to happen during spring/summer, than winter.

Elmer Blooker · 06-04-2016 8:39pm

December 24th and 25th 2010.

M.T. Cranium · 06-04-2016 9:14pm

Based on my seven years of watching Irish weather closely, I would estimate that there are one or two cloudless days at some location each month, on average. I can remember some spells of four or five days of such days -- March 2012 comes to mind. Some months certainly come and go without one. This is a fairly low frequency for a mid-latitude climate though, the average is probably four to six in many parts of North America for example. When I say cloudless this excludes contrails or brief interruptions early in the morning after sunrise from mist.

Jpmarn · 06-04-2016 9:33pm

We seldom get wall to wall sunshine. It is also seldom get wall to wall continuous rainfall. About less than 33% of daylight hours in Ireland is sunshine.

sryanbruen · 06-04-2016 10:34pm

doolox wrote: »

I did the Leaving Cert in the Summer of '76 and it was a scorcher. Long June days in the 30's and stuck inside all day writing rubbish about Shakespeare, irregular verbs and other rubbish to keep the civil service happy.......

I also recall 1984 as being a good one but 1986 was very wet. Also 1995 was good but 1996 or 97 was also very wet.

To clarify your answer for "1996" or "1997" summers, well then here ya go:

Summer 1996
June: Very dry, sunny and warm.
July: Mostly sunny, dry and warm.
August: Relatively warm but wet and dull.

Summer 1997
June: Very wet, dull and cool. Malin Head was the sunny exception.
July: Mild overall after an unseasonably cool start (the 1st was the coldest July day on record, even to this day). Relatively dry and sunny generally.
August: Extremely wet in the south but very warm and dull generally.

sryanbruen · 06-04-2016 10:43pm

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

December 24th and 25th 2010.

Correct Christmas Day 2010 was one!

Here's other days for you

March 26 - 28 2012
April 28 2012
May 26 2012
February 25 2013
April 3 2013
April 29 2013
June 4 - 9 2013
July 8 - 11 2013
July 19 2013

I will come up with more examples

armabelle · 07-04-2016 8:52am

M.T. Cranium wrote: »

Based on my seven years of watching Irish weather closely, I would estimate that there are one or two cloudless days at some location each month, on average. I can remember some spells of four or five days of such days -- March 2012 comes to mind. Some months certainly come and go without one. This is a fairly low frequency for a mid-latitude climate though, the average is probably four to six in many parts of North America for example. When I say cloudless this excludes contrails or brief interruptions early in the morning after sunrise from mist.

Here in Dublin there was only one full day of sunshine in February. I arrived at the beginning of the year and wait patienty for sun to take my little to see some sunlight. It is now April. One or two days a month is very optimistic and might be the case in wexford maybe?

armabelle · 07-04-2016 8:53am

sryanbruen wrote: »

Correct Christmas Day 2010 was one!

Here's other days for you

March 26 - 28 2012
April 28 2012
May 26 2012
February 25 2013
April 3 2013
April 29 2013
June 4 - 9 2013
July 8 - 11 2013
July 19 2013

I will come up with more examples

the sad part is that I don't know if you are joking or not

JCX BXC · 07-04-2016 9:06am

armabelle wrote: »

the sad part is that I don't know if you are joking or not

He's not.

Jim Comic · 07-04-2016 9:07am

armabelle wrote: »

Is there ever a whole sunny day in Ireland?

no, never..... don't be preposterous

MJohnston · 07-04-2016 10:48am

I'm forever bemused by people who move to Ireland without a clue about the climate. What were you expecting?

Stealthfins · 07-04-2016 11:08am

2005 was the last prolonged spell of good weather.
Sunshine for nearly 3 months,it was the year huge shoals of mackerel came inshore and everyone was out fishing.
Ray Bans and Oakley were very popular.

regi3457 · 07-04-2016 12:58pm

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

The weather NOTHING to do with the high suicide rate in this country. Perhaps mentioning that we living under a corrupt, self-serving establishment might be closer to the mark. Perhaps it would be more apt to mention a culture where alcohol excess is endorsed and celebrated, despite the fact that it destroys more lives, directly and indirectly, than smoking actually does. Or maybe the high suicide rate in the country is due to societal pressures, to live up to standards that cannot ever be achieved in reality. Or maybe it is down to the unspoken rules to conform to a cultural norm that refuses to stretch its bounds outside the limits of soul destroying mediocrity.

The suggest that the high suicide rate is down the Irish climate is both naive and misleading.

I have yet to find a country - and have lived in and visited many - whos residents did not feel like they lived under corrupt establishments.

Also, suicide rates are mentioned here a lot like it is the worse thing

Irelands weather is responsible for bad health in general. Vitamin D deficiency which leads to premature balding in men, premature ageing in general, MS, cancer, age-related mental decline, schizophrenia, and cardiovascular diseases among others.

some actually say that there is a reason why the roman empire never reached Ireland

regi3457 · 07-04-2016 1:00pm

Stealthfins wrote: »

Ray Bans and Oakley were very popular.

haha, yeak I can imagine the sunglass market in Ireland must have been booming

armabelle · 07-04-2016 1:06pm

MJohnston wrote: »

I'm forever bemused by people who move to Ireland without a clue about the climate. What were you expecting?

one sunny day a week

Cienciano · 07-04-2016 1:16pm

95 is the best I remember. Peoples lawns were brown.
Contrast was probably (I think) 2008 when it rained every day in Dublin for something like 60 days. And just to make it more miserable, the next year wasn't much better.

Redbishop · 07-04-2016 1:26pm

I always put on Brucie when I m feeling low, this one if its the weather causing it.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TiCxqhu9cio

shamrock2004 · 07-04-2016 1:27pm

Cienciano wrote: »

95 is the best I remember. Peoples lawns were brown.
Contrast was probably (I think) 2008 when it rained every day in Dublin for something like 60 days. And just to make it more miserable, the next year wasn't much better.

It was 2007. The reason I remember was because rihanna's song 'umbrella' was just released on the radio and people were texting radio stations asking them to stop playing it as it rained every single day after that song was released! I also remember buying an around-the-world air ticket at that time and getting the hell out of here for a few months

cml387 · 07-04-2016 1:28pm

Could I ask where the OP is from, for a comparison.

MJohnston · 07-04-2016 1:51pm

armabelle wrote: »

one sunny day a week

That's not how weather works I'm afraid!

hardCopy · 07-04-2016 2:14pm

There's no such thing as bad weather, only a bad choice of clothing.

sumtings · 07-04-2016 2:24pm

hardCopy wrote: »

There's no such thing as bad weather, only a bad choice of clothing.

I'm not a fan of the constat grey but dry days, much prefer a showery day with bits of blue sky cause I have the right clothes for the rain and access to the rainfall radar.

Gonzo · 07-04-2016 3:47pm

once we get 1 sunny day and 20C people will declare it a heatwave!.

In general we rarely get above 23C. Last summer some places struggled to get past 18C.

MJohnston · 07-04-2016 3:51pm

I love sunshine, but I hate heat. 15-18C and sunny is my ideal weather, above 20C and I start whinging.

I had to live in California for 18 months, absolutely hated the weather.

sryanbruen · 07-04-2016 5:00pm

Stealthfins wrote: »

2005 was the last prolonged spell of good weather.
Sunshine for nearly 3 months,it was the year huge shoals of mackerel came inshore and everyone was out fishing.
Ray Bans and Oakley were very popular.

I have no clue what you're talking bout haha. 2005 was an extremely dry year here at Grange but it was also very dull - the sixth dullest in my records with only January, May, September and November sunnier than normal. 2010 was the year for me with sunshine, over 1800 hours!

January - the second sunniest on record
February - well nothing remarkable, just sunny
March - the fifth sunniest on record
April - the fourth sunniest on record
May - the third sunniest on record
June - the second sunniest on record
July - the one dull month of 2010, but wasn't remarkably dull (here). In fact it ended up near normal!
August - the fourth sunniest on record
September - the third sunniest on record
October - the sunniest on record
November - the sunniest on record
December - the sunniest on record

As you can see, 11 months were sunnier than normal and 3 of them broke the record for their sunniest respective month. I would do anything to have a year like 2010 again! Very sunny, cold, snowy and very dry (my driest year on record).

sryanbruen · 07-04-2016 5:22pm

armabelle wrote: »

the sad part is that I don't know if you are joking or not

Oh I never joke about weather!!! Met Éireann's summaries / bulletins are the proof - though I remember the days off the top of my head!

More examples I remembered

March 11 2014
April 15 2014
June 17 2014
July 1 2014
September 10 2014
March 13 2015
April 7-9 2015
April 21-23 2015
September 8 2015
October 1 2015
November 1 2015
February 23 2016
March 14 2016

armabelle · 07-04-2016 5:29pm

MJohnston wrote: »

That's not how weather works I'm afraid!

Or, that is not how Irish weather works. In most parts of the world you do get one sunny day a week don't you?

armabelle · 07-04-2016 5:30pm

sryanbruen wrote: »

Oh I never joke about weather!!! Met Éireann's summaries / bulletins are the proof - though I remember the days off the top of my head!

More examples I remembered

March 11 2014
April 15 2014
June 17 2014
July 1 2014
September 10 2014
March 13 2015
April 7-9 2015
April 21-23 2015
September 8 2015
October 1 2015
November 1 2015
February 23 2016
March 14 2016

In march there was not one "sunny" day in Dublin... not one!

by the way, are you serious about this list...where did you get this info?

12Phase · 07-04-2016 5:31pm

doolox wrote: »

I did the Leaving Cert in the Summer of '76 and it was a scorcher. Long June days in the 30's and stuck inside all day writing rubbish about Shakespeare, irregular verbs and other rubbish to keep the civil service happy.......

I also recall 1984 as being a good one but 1986 was very wet. Also 1995 was good but 1996 or 97 was also very wet.

The solution is more and longer state exams. They seem to have a positive effect on the weather.

Reckless Abandonment · 07-04-2016 5:38pm

Absolutely hate the Irish weather. Dull wet dull cold wet dull, rarely any decent extremes. Impossible to organise anything outdoors more than a few days out even then a risk. Forecasts nearly a waste of time (not having a go at M.E ). Love the country but God its weather can be depressing.

Oneiric 3 · 07-04-2016 7:05pm

regi3457 wrote: »

I have yet to find a country - and have lived in and visited many - whos residents did not feel like they lived under corrupt establishments

Feeling and being are two entirely different concepts. Head on over the the IIEA and see for yourself just how well paid our establishment is compared to other European countries in proportion to population and hours worked.

regi3457 wrote: »

Also, suicide rates are mentioned here a lot like it is the worse thing

What? Suicide is a very real and serious problem in this country - especially in rural Ireland. The question is, why would this be. There is clearly something inherently wrong in Irish society that spurs on such extreme measures by people. To dismiss this as not being a big social concern is absolutely absurd

regi3457 wrote: »

Irelands weather is responsible for bad health in general. Vitamin D deficiency which leads to premature balding in men, premature ageing in general, MS, cancer, age-related mental decline, schizophrenia, and cardiovascular diseases among others.

Really? you state this as if it this was some sort of fact; when in fact it is nothing but pseudo-science that you pulled right out of your backside.

Is there ever a whole sunny day in Ireland?

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