MAY 2024 has been something of a ‘saving grace’ in terms of our weather across the West of Ireland being the driest month in most places since February, 2023.

Rainfall at most locations across the West during May ’24 came in around the two to three inches mark – with the exception of Knock Airport which was the wettest place in Ireland over the month gone by.

Rainfall at Knock Airport for last month came in at 124.7mms (almost 5 inches) with the main reason for this high total being a localised heavy/thundery downpour on Sunday, May 26, which brought nearly 35mms (1.4”) of rain.

According to the Met Éireann monthly statistics data, May was also a warm and sunny month with an average temperature of 12.7°C – 1.4° above the long-term-average (LTA) for the month.

May was also a strong month for grass and crops growth with a mean soil temperature of 13.2°C recorded – nearly 4°C above the figure for April ’24.

Abbeyknockmoy farmer and rainfall recorder, Brendan Geraghty, had a figure of 2.14 inches of rain (just over 54mms) during May, a month he described a ‘good recovery month’ for the farming sector.

“We were actually for a very dry month up until the 25th but in the five day period from May 25 to 29, I recorded 1.3 inches of rainfall.

Pictured: Silage season at last getting into full swing.