July was four times wetter than last year.

And after the wettest July on record, according to provisional data released by Met Éireann, the national forecaster says we’re not going to see much of an improvement as August gets underway.

Ireland experienced low pressure and cool air masses over the past few weeks, blocking the high pressure that has dominated southern Europe, inhibiting cloud formation and allowing extreme heat to build up.

According to Met Éireann’s latest monthly forecast, the current meteorological setup looks set to continue into the early days of August:

“The North Atlantic jet stream is forecast to remain south of the country, meaning it’s likely low-pressure systems with associated active weather fronts will continue to dominate our weather.” said a forecaster.

A blustery bank holiday

After a cloudy start across Cork today, Wednesday, the rain will gradually clear to a mix of cloudy periods and isolated showers this afternoon, with highest temperatures of 16 to 19 degrees.

Thursday will be cloudy too, with showers gradually becoming more isolated during the afternoon and some isolated sunny spells developing.

A cloudy & wet start with outbreaks of rain🌧️, heavy and persistent for a time over the northern half of the country.

The rain will gradually clear to a mix of cloudy periods☁️ & isolated showers☔️ as light winds turn a fresh northerly this afternoon🍃.

Highs🌡️ of 15 to 19°C pic.twitter.com/V0VsUspEVJ

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) August 2, 2023

The outlook for the August bank holiday is unsettled with showers and blustery winds at times. Friday and Saturday will be showery with sunny spells, but current indications suggest Sunday will be a wet and very blustery day:

“A band of rain with possibly heavy falls will move over the southern half of the country with scattered showers elsewhere. Highest temperatures of around 14 to 17 degrees.”