*Photograph: Joe Buckley
Shannon Airport is on track to challenge its all-time monthly sunshine record, set in June 1957 with 261.2 hours.
So far this May, Shannon has recorded a remarkable 231.2 sunshine hours—just 30 hours shy of surpassing the historic mark—with nearly two weeks still to go.
With widespread sunshine likely on Wednesday through Friday morning, it is likely that Shannon will record its sunniest May on record at least. That came in May 1974 when the airport recorded 255.1 sunshine hours during the month.
Met Éireann has reported that mean air temperatures over the past week were above average across the country, with the west feeling the most warmth. Shannon Airport recorded the highest mean temperature at 16.2°C, 4.1°C above normal, while Dublin Airport was coolest at 11.7°C.
Mark Dunphy, the Clare-based founder of WeathEire.com, said, “Before Tuesday’s thunderstorms, the Met Éireann synoptic station based at the airport recorded only 2.7mm of rainfall since the start of May. That is only 4% of the seasonal rainfall average for Clare”.
