One of the sunniest months of May ever at Malin Head, latest data shows
Inishowen enjoyed 287 hours of sunshine last month, more than double its tally of 123 hours in May 2024
Inishowen had some of the sunniest and windiest weather in the country during the month of May, new data from Met Eireann has revealed.
Malin Head recorded the single sunniest day in Ireland last month, with 15.2 hours of unabated sunshine on Sunday, May 18.
The northern-most weather station also registered the windiest day in the country, with gusts of 43 knots [50mph] on Thursday, May 29, by which time the good spell of weather had broken.
Overall, Inishowen enjoyed one of its sunniest Mays ever, with a total of 287 hours of sunshine, which was more than double Malin Head’s sunshine tally of 123 hours in May 2024.
There was no great heat to match the sun, however.
The average temperature of 11.4 degrees Celsius was only 0.9 degrees warmer than the long-term average for the month, and temperatures never reached anywhere near the heights of the end of April.
The hottest day of last month was May 24, when it reached 17.7 degrees at Malin Head, which was a long way off the record of 23.4 degrees set on April 30.
In total, Malin Head recorded 54 millilitres [3.2 inches] of rainfall in May, which was 17 per cent below the long-term expected average.
There were twenty days without any rain whatsoever, including 19 of the first 22 days.
The wettest day of the month was Monday, May 12, when 13.4 mls of rain fell.
Meanwhile, Met Eireann predicts that temperatures could reach 19 or 20 degrees by this coming Wednesday, June 11 – but unfortunately, there will still be plenty of cloud and showers about.
Locals will hope that our prolonged spell of sunshine in May hasn’t used up our entire quota before the summer has even begun!