Dry, cool and sunny April nationally and at Markree

MET Eireann has described April nationally as “very dry, cool and sunny” and that was also the general picture in Sligo.

All monthly rainfall totals across the country were below their long-term average and that was also the situation at Sligo’s weather station at Markree, which had just 55% of its normal rainfall for the month.

The 43 millimetres for the month was well above the 16.3mm last year but that was an exceptionally dry month. As a better guide it was just over half of the 78.9mm in 2019 and 80.1mm in 2018, which are more typical for April.

It was the driest month of the year so far in Sligo and, indeed, the rainfall total for May had already exceeded April early last week.

However, April rainfall at Markree was at the higher end of the scale nationally. Monthly rainfall totals ranged from just 10.8 mm at Dublin Airport to 45.6 mm at Newport, Co. Mayo.

But it was a cold month and colder than normal for April. Markree’s average temperature for the month was -1.7 degrees below the long-term average for the month at the station.

The average for the month was a chilly 6.7 degrees, which was a lot cooler than the 9.4 degrees average last year and 8.8 degrees in 2019.

It was also a lot colder than March, when the average for the month was 7.3 degrees.

Nationally, nearly all temperatures were below their long-term average for the month and nearly all stations reported a good number of days of ground frost during the month

It was particularly cold on the east coast, with an average for the month of just 5.6°C at Dublin Airport, Co. Dublin (its coldest April on record, going back 78 years). The month’s highest mean temperature was 9.1°C at Newport, Co. Mayo.

The month’s lowest air temperature of -4.7°C was reported on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11 at both Dublin Airport and Casement Aerodrome, Co. Dublin, while the lowest grass minimum was -9.6°C reported at both Ballyhaise, Co. Cavan and Mount Dillon, Co. Roscommon on Saturday, April 10.

On that morning Markree recorded a frosty -4.2°C. It was sunnier than normal for the month at Markree but still a bit duller generally than April last year.