February colder than normal – but not a record-breaker
THE ‘Beast from the East’ may have sent the mercury plummeting, but although February was cold, it was not a record cold month.
Met Éireann says air temperatures were colder in most weather stations, with Gurteen, in Co Tipperary, recording its lowest-ever reading for February 28, as the threat of Storm Emma began to loom large, and as the first snow fell.
On that day, the maximum air temperature recorded at the station was -1.1C – an astonishing 9.8C lower than average. On the same day, the lowest air temperature recorded at Gurteen – the coldest anywhere in the country – was -5.7C. Overall, rainfall was below average and sunshine levels higher.