Ireland typically receives 1,100–1,600 hours of sunlight annually. May and June are the hottest months, with an average of 5 to 6.5 hours of sunlight each day over the majority of the nation, reports RTE.
With an average of more than seven hours of sunshine every day in the early summer, the far southeast receives the most. With daily sunshine varying from around one hour in the north to over two hours in the far southeast, December is the dreariest month. Most places receive between 3 1/4 and 3 3/4 hours of sunlight per day on average throughout the year.
Since 1941, there have been ten recorded cases at different sites where the total number of days without sunlight topped eleven, reports RTE.
At a station in Ireland, the longest period of consecutive days without sunshine since 1941 is 16 days. At Belmullet, County Mayo, from September 1st to September 16th 1956, and more recently, at Cork Airport from December 23rd 2018 to January 7th 2019, this has happened twice.
The record for the most days without sunshine at Dublin Airport is 11 days, set in March 1969. However, Dublin Airport recorded zero sunlight this month from Saturday, February 8th, to Tuesday, February 18th, tying this record, reports RTE.
Today, Wednesday, February 19, we finally saw some sunshine, thus the record will continue to stand at 11 days in a row.
What, then, is causing the dreary, overcast weather that has dominated much of this month?
A cooler easterly breeze from central Europe passed across Ireland on Thursday, February 6, while blocking high pressure moved into southern Scandinavia, reports RTE.
A shallow overcast layer that can feed into Ireland’s east coast during this time of year is created when relatively cold and stable air from the east moves across the North Sea and subsequently the Irish Sea.
This layer occasionally breaks apart as it moves west. It remained gloomy for a few days until Tuesday, February 11th, when this and low pressure to the south of Ireland sent weak weather fronts north into the easterly flow, reports RTE.
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