RAINFALL was well below normal in December, ranging from 28 per cent of normal at Shannon Airport to 68 per cent at Belmullet, according to Met Eireann.
At Birr, Kilkenny and Mullingar it was the driest December for about 30 years," while Shannon Airport's total of 29mm was its lowest for December in over 50 years.
The number of wet days (days with 1.0mm or more precipitation) was also well below normal, ranging between seven and 11 generally, about half the normal number. At most stations there was very little rain outside the periods from the 1st to the 4th, the 17th to the 18th, and also around the 7th.
The heaviest rainfall of the month throughout the State was on the 3rd Belmullet recorded 28.3mm on this day, the highest fall of the month.
Sunshine varied widely, with over 50 per cent more sunshine "than normal in the west and north, compared with between 10 and 35 per cent less sunshine than normal in parts of the east and south. While it was the sunniest December for 36 years at Malin Head, it was the dullest since 1975 at Casement Aerodrome," Baldonnel, Co Dublin.
Overall, it was dry and cold for most of the month. After an unsettled spell during the first four days, pressure was fairly high for much of the remainder of the month, with dry weather - resulting,
Most of the first 10 days of the month were relatively mild, but it became colder as easterly winds became established. A depression centred near Iceland at the beginning of the month gave a showery, westerly airstream on the 1st and 2nd.
Air temperatures for the month were around a degree below normal.