Over five feet of rain pelts Kerry in 2017

RAINFALL IS UP BY HALF A FOOT IN 40 YEARS, TEMPERATURE BY HALF A DEGREE

VALENTIA recorded the second-highest annual rainfall and mean temperature of Ireland’s major observatories in 2017 – while its average rainfall and temperatures continue to break records.

The station’s mean temperature for 2017 was 11.2 degrees Celsius, with July its warmest month of the year (a mean of 14.8) and January its coldest (7.8). The mercury hit a phenomenal 26 degrees at one point on June 20 – one of the 60 hottest temperatures recorded in the south Kerry station according to records going back to the 1930s.

Only Sherkin Island, County Cork, recorded a higher mean temperature for 2017. The average temperature in Valentia for the last 30 years has now passed 11 degrees (11.01, up from 10.98), based on The Kerryman’s analysis of Met Éireann records.

June 18 was the sunniest day of the year according to Valentia, with 15.5 hours of sunshine – making it one of the sunniest days in records stretching back to the turn of the millennium.

The Kerry observatory recorded well over five feet of rainfall throughout 2017 (1596mm), bringing the 30-year average to 1,586mm; which represents an increase of around half a foot over 40 years.

The driest month of the year for 2017 was April (just over 50mm of rainfall) – in fact, that entire month experienced just 11mm more than the wettest day of the year, September 2 (39.8mm). The wettest month of 2017 according to Valentia was September (204.4mm).

LEFT: Each annual mean temperature recorded by Valentia Observatory since 1977 (in red), and (in blue) a rolling 30-year average calculated by The Kerryman. For example, the 2017 mark (11 degrees Celsius) is based on the annual mean temperatures from...

Annual rainfall recorded by Valentia Observatory each year since 1987 (in red), and (in blue) a rolling 30-year average calculated by The Kerryman.