At long last - here comes the summer!
IT’S a prediction to be made at one’s own peril but after a decent June, the consensus from all the major weather forecasters is that July is shaping up to be a month dominated by high pressure and sunshine, with temperatures shooting through the mid-20s mark.
Met Eireann are predicting temperatures to touch 25° or 26° Celsius through the early days of next week, while more long term, the BBC are forecasting that the high pressure could ‘stick around’ for most of July.
The big change in our weather came through the first week of June when temperatures reached 24.3° at the NUI Galway Weather Recording Station on the Saturday of June 8, triggering off a period of exceptional growth after one of our harshest Spring spells for decades.
“June brought a big change for the farming community. We got heat back in the soil that got growth going and we got a lot dry weather as well. A fair bit of bagged silage has been made during the month and if July follows suit, it will be a great help to everyone,” Galway IFA Chairman, Michael Flynn told the Connacht Tribune.
Abbeyknockmoy rainfall recorder, Brendan Geraghty, just collected 2.09 inches of rainfall in his goblet during the 30 days of June with three extended dry spells from May 28 to June 10, June 16 to June 21 and from June 22 to July 1.
“June was the month that brought a real change for everyone. It got a lot warmer and the dry spells allowed farmers to take some early crops of silage. It has improved the humour of everyone a lot,” said Brendan Geraghty.
Our relatively dry June followed on from a wet May (4.4 inches of rainfall) and also a dank April (4.57 inches) while March was an exceptionally dry month (1.7 inches), although the third month of the year came with a sting in the tail of bitterly cold winds that completely stymied growth.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.