Key facts
- Ireland's national May maximum temperature record was broken.
- Temperatures exceeded 30.6°C on May 26.
- The previous record of 28.4°C was set in 1997.
- The national mean May temperature was 12.54°C, the seventh warmest since 1900.
- May was drier than normal, with 79% of the average rainfall.
Met Éireann has reported that the national May maximum temperature record was broken last month, with temperatures exceeding the previous record by over 2°C. An intense high-pressure system combined with a tropical airmass brought exceptionally high temperatures between May 25 and May 27. The previous record of 28.4°C, set in 1997, was surpassed at multiple locations on May 25, and on May 26, several stations recorded temperatures above 30.6°C. Provisional records from locations like Abbeyfeale, Clonmel, Castleisland, Durrow, Kilkenny, Killarney, and Fethard are undergoing investigation to establish the new official record. The national mean May temperature was 12.54°C, making it the seventh warmest May since 1900 and 1.21°C above the 1991-2020 long-term average. May was also drier than normal, receiving 79% of the 1991-2020 average rainfall, ranking it as the 31st driest May since 1941. The highest daily rainfall recorded was 21.1mm in Mount Dillon on May 19. The month began with cooler conditions influenced by low pressure and Arctic airmasses, but the final third saw a significant shift with high pressure and a hot tropical continental airmass leading to the record-breaking temperatures.