Winter was among mildest on record

Last winter was one of the mildest on record in some parts of the country, according to Met Éireann.

Yesterday marked the official end of winter as far as forecasters are concerned.

It was a particularly mild season in the west of Ireland with both Shannon airport and Belmullet station recording their mildest winter in 23 years.

Knock airport recorded a seasonal mean temperature of 5.5 degrees, the highest since records began there in 1996.

At Valentia Observatory in Co Kerry, the temperature never went below freezing. The coldest temperature recorded all winter was 1.7 degrees, which is the highest minimum winter temperature recorded at the station since 1939.

Most other stations recorded their highest minimum winter temperatures for between five and 17 years.

Though it was mild everywhere, with average temperatures at between a degree and two degrees above normal, it was not as mild as the winter of 2007/2008 in many places.

The highest temperature of the winter was recorded in the Phoenix Park on February 23rd at 15 degrees, while the minimum temperature was a relatively mild minus 6.3 degrees at Mullingar on February 2nd.

February was another expectionally mild month, with average temperatures between 1.8 degrees and 2.8 degrees above normal. It was also an exceptionally dull month with sunshine levels below normal. They were also below normal in December and January.

Cloud cover keeps the temperatures higher in winter time and lower in summer time.