Ireland records highest average temperature and hours of sunshine for spring
Spring 2025 was the warmest on record for Ireland, with highest sunshine totals recorded at most stations for the period of March, April and May.
- Provisional Met Éireann statistics show that spring 2025 had the highest average temperature for the meteorological period in 126 years of records.
- Notably, 2025 marked the first spring that was more than two degrees higher than the 20th century average for the same period.
- Of the top five average temperatures for spring, four have occurred since 2017, reflecting the trend of increasing seasonal temperatures aligned with global climate projections.
- Overall, it was the sunniest spring on record, with most stations recording highest values for total hours of sunshine in spring.
- Spring 2025 was also relatively dry, provisionally ranking as the 16th driest since records began in 1941, and the driest since 2020.
- As a result of the warmer, sunnier and calmer conditions, a marine heatwave developed off the west coast of Ireland through April and May with sea surface temperatures reaching over 2°C warmer than average in some coastal areas, and up to 4°C warmer than average in offshore areas.
Spring 2025 Climate Statistics
The latest Met Éireann statistics show that Ireland had its warmest and sunniest meteorological spring on record this year. It was also dry everywhere with multiple climatological dry periods. Blocking high pressure dominated through most of the season, bringing a lot of sunshine with it. This, along with predominantly easterly winds due to the high-pressure systems often setting up just to the north of Ireland and the UK, led to sea surface temperatures to the south and west of Ireland reaching record high levels during April and May. All three months saw air temperatures well above average at the majority of stations, leading to all but a few stations in the East having their warmest spring on record.
March was mild, dry and sunny, with high pressure dominating through most of the month with weak steering currents aloft.
April was warm and sunny overall. The first half of the month was dominated by high pressure to the north bringing a dry easterly airflow. The second half of the month saw a wetter spell for a couple of weeks, where Atlantic low pressure dominated and brought several spells of heavy rain, especially to the Midlands, South and East. It settled down again towards the end of the month with high pressure bringing record warmth for April.
May continued the theme of high-pressure dominance for much of the month. Blocking high pressure set up just to the north brought an easterly airflow with plenty of sunshine. The settled spell broke for the last week of the season, with Atlantic low pressure breaking through and bringing spells of rain or showers.
Rainfall: Below average everywhere, with numerous climatological dry periods reported
All seasonal rainfall totals across the country were below their 1991-2020 Long-Term Average (LTA). Percentages of seasonal rainfall values ranged from 57% (the season’s lowest rainfall total of 129.5 mm) at Sherkin Island, Co Cork (driest spring since 1997) to 92% (seasonal rainfall total of 152.8 mm) at Casement Aerodrome, Co Dublin. Seasonal rainfall totals were as much as 250.3 mm (77% of its LTA) at Newport, Co Mayo (its driest spring since 2012).
The highest daily rainfall total was 44.5 mm at Roches Point, Co Cork on Friday 18th April. The number of rain days (*0) ranged from 31 days at Moore Park, Co Cork, to 42 days at both Newport, Co Mayo and Belmullet, Co Mayo. The number of wet days (*1) ranged from 19 days at Roches Point, Co Cork, to 35 days at Belmullet, Co Mayo. The number of very wet days (*2) ranged from three days at Malin Head, Co Donegal to eight days at both Newport, Co Mayo and Finner, Co Donegal.
There were numerous climatological dry periods during spring 2025, with eight stations having two dry periods at different times during the season. Climatological dry periods are classified as dry spells (*3), absolute droughts (*4) and partial droughts (*5). Three stations had partial droughts, eleven stations had absolute droughts and 22 stations had dry spells. Along with Sherkin Island, it was also the driest spring since 1997 at Moore Park, Co Cork and Valentia Observatory, Co Kerry.
Cumulative rainfall totals at Newport (left) and Sherkin Island (right) in spring 2025, relative to seasonal long term average
Temperature: Record warm spring at most stations
All mean air temperatures across the country were above their LTA for the season. Deviations from mean air temperature ranged from +1.1 °C (9.5 °C, the season’s lowest mean temperature) at Dublin Airport, Co Dublin to +2.2 °C (10.1 °C mean temperature) at Knock Airport, Co Mayo. Mean temperatures were as much as 11.7 °C (1.9 °C above its LTA) at Shannon Airport, Co Clare (its warmest spring in 79 years of records).
The season’s highest temperature was reported at Athenry, Co Galway on Wednesday 30th April with a temperature of 25.9 °C (highest daily maximum spring temperature in 15 years of records). Both the season’s lowest air (-4.6 °C) and grass minimum (-10.5 °C) temperatures were recorded on Saturday 15th March at Mount Dillon, Co Roscommon.
All stations reported ground frost during the season. The number of days with ground frost ranged from four days at Sherkin Island, Co Cork to 54 days at Mount Dillon, Co Roscommon. More than half of stations reported air frost. The number of days with air frost ranged from zero days at a few stations to 14 days at Mount Dillon, Co Roscommon.
23 of 25 stations had their warmest spring on record (record lengths between 14 and 85 years). Only Dunsany, Co Meath had its second warmest and Dublin Airport had its joint third warmest. Oak Park, Co Carlow, Moore Park, Co Cork, Athenry, Co Galway and Casement, Co Dublin recorded their warmest spring on record for the third consecutive years, while Roches Point, Co Cork and Markree, Co Sligo had their warmest spring for the second year in a row.
Shannon Airport, Co Clare Temperature: Daily mean departure from LTA for Spring 2025 based on 09-09hr Max/Min values
Sunshine: Sunniest spring on record at most stations
All available sunshine totals were above their LTA for the season. Percentage of seasonal sunshine values ranged from 138% (seasonal sunshine total of 630.8 hours) at Shannon Airport, Co Clare (its sunniest spring in 79 years of records) to 139% (seasonal sunshine total of 633.8 hours) at Casement Aerodrome, Co Dublin (sunniest spring in 61 years of records).
Seasonal sunshine totals ranged from 595.5 hours at Gurteen, Co Tipperary** (sunniest spring in nine years of records) to 649.7 hours at Malin Head, Co Donegal** (sunniest spring in 11 years of records). The highest number of daily sunshine hours was 15.2 hours recorded on Sunday 18th May at Malin Head, Co Donegal and on Thursday 22nd May at both Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford and Shannon Airport, Co Clare.
The number of dull days (*6) ranged from 11 days at a few stations to 18 days at Valentia Observatory, Co Kerry. All available sunshine recording stations had their sunniest spring on record (record lengths ranging from nine to 83 years), except Valentia Observatory, Co Kerry, which had its second sunniest spring after 2010.
Wind: Relatively calm, gales reported at one station
Seasonal mean wind speeds ranged from 5.3 knots (9.8 km/h) at Ballyhaise, Co Cavan to 12.2 knots (22.6 km/h) at Malin Head, Co Donegal.
Gales were reported on Friday 28th March and on Sunday 25th May at Mace Head, Co Galway. The number of days with gale force winds ranged from zero at most stations to two days at Mace Head, Co Galway. There were no strong gales or storms reported this season.
The season’s highest gust was reported at Malin Head, Co Donegal on Saturday 29th March with 46 knots (85 km/h). The season’s highest 10-minute mean wind speed was 34 knots (62 km/h) at Mace Head, Co Galway, reported on Sunday 25th May and Friday 28th March. Seven stations had their lowest mean wind for spring on record.
The statement in full is available here (choose Spring on drop down menu for month).
Statistics issued by Met Éireann on Thursday 5th June 2025. This report is based on available preliminary data from 25 principal weather stations operated by Met Éireann. Synoptic station data is daily, which is midnight to midnight UTC. Long-Term Averages (LTAs) and “average” refer to the period 1991-2020.
*0 A rain day is a day with 0.2 mm or more of rainfall.
*1 A wet day is a day with 1.0 mm or more of rainfall.
*2 A very wet day is a day with 10.0 mm or more of rainfall
*3 A dry spell is a period of 15 or more consecutive days to none of which is credited 1.0 mm or more of precipitation
*4 An absolute drought is a period of 15 or more consecutive days to none of which is credited 0.2 mm or more of precipitation.
*5 A partial drought is a period of at least 29 consecutive days, the mean daily rainfall of which does not exceed 0.2 mm
*6 A dull day is a day with less than 0.5 hours of sunshine.
**Sunshine data is from the Autosol Network. LTAs for these sites are currently not used for comparison purposes. For more information, contact Met Éireann at 01-8064200 or e-mail: enq@met.ie