A wet and warm June delivered a huge growth surge
A WET, warm and dull June, 2025, signed off on its last day with an unmerciful downpour which unleashed close to an inch of rain over a three-hour period.
The torrential rain on Monday afternoon last – peaking between 3pm and 5pm – made for horrendous driving conditions with the M6, M17 and M18 motorways covered in sheets of water.
It was a fitting finale to a June month which was our wettest since December 2023 – the Met Éireann station in Athenry recorded a total of 165mms [6.5 inches] of rainfall during the 30 days of our sixth month.
Last Monday alone delivered 25.7mms. [just over an inch] of rainfall at the Athenry station – the wettest place in Ireland – with almost all of that falling during a three-hour downpour between 3pm and 6pm.
Despite Monday’s deluge, it wasn’t the wettest day of the month at the Athenry station – that dubious honour went to Thursday, June 5th, which produced 32.2mms [1.27 inches] of rainfall.
It was though a prodigious month for growth with the rain, and above average soil temperatures, leading to a huge surge in grass accumulations.
Oranmore dairy farmer, Henry Walsh, said that after a dry May, the mild and wet conditions of June had led to an unprecedented surge in grass growth.
“After a very dry and warm May, when at times we nearly had the threat of drought conditions, the mild and wet weather of June has made it something of an outrageous summer for growth,” said Henry Walsh.
The mean temperature for June, 2025, of 14.3°C, was 0.8°, above the long-term average for the month and 1.4° higher than the figure for our sixth month in 2024. Average soil temperatures for June at the Athenry station came in at 15.2°C or 0.5° warmer that last year’s average.
Abbeyknockmoy weather recorder, Brendan Geraghty, had a rainfall total for June of 5.05 inches or 128mms with 1.25 inches [32mms.] of that total arriving during last Monday’s downpour.
“We really had only 11 wet days during the month but when the rain came, some of the falls were torrential. Last Monday was a typical example of that. It was the wettest June that I recorded since 2012.
“After quite a dry May, when the rains came in June, there was massive growth. A lot of silage was got by farmers and a lot of turf brought home, but like everyone else, I’m hoping that it [the rain] stops now for a while,” said Brendan Geraghty.
After a dry three days in the mid-week period, more rain – heavy in places – is predicted for Friday and Saturday, but there are some tentative indications of a drier spell of weather for most of next week.
Pictured: Brendan Geraghty: Wettest June since 2012.