The weather in July has been so wet, it is within touching distance of breaking official records. 

By contrast, last month, there was so little rainfall many parts of the country were plunged into a drought and the average temperature was so high it was the hottest June on record. 

While some may find the contrast frustrating, Cathal Nolan of Ireland’s Weather Channel says it overall averages things out. 

“We need to take the month of June into consideration as well,” he told Moncrieff. 

“While we have seen near record breaking levels of rainfall so far in July, of course, if we cast our minds back to… June, we can see very pleasant conditions indeed. 

“Parts in the country got up to 29 degrees Celsius.

“Fast forward a couple of weeks and we’ve seen a complete switch in conditions.” 

Co Kildare in May 2023. Picture by: Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie

The change, he said, is due the location of a Jetstream in the Atlantic. 

“In June, we had an area of blocking high pressure which was very persistent and stuck really right across Ireland, part of Britain and northwestern Europe,” he said. 

“It kept our part of Europe particularly fine and particularly dry. 

“However, that has switched around and now we’ve seen semi-permanent areas of low pressure really stuck in Ireland on account of the position of the Jetstream.” 

People on Portmarnock Beach, Dublin. Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Parts of southern Europe are sweltering under record temperature levels but Mr Nolan said it is too soon to tell whether the weather will heat up here as well. 

“There’s a little bit of uncertainty about next weekend,” he said. 

“At the moment, there are subtle signs that we may be seeing a shift as we go into the middle part or the end of next week.” 

Last month, UCC’s Dr Chris Mays predicted climate change means Ireland will move “towards a more Mediterranean style climate”.

Main image: Wet and Windy day in Dublin. Photo SamBoal/Photocall Ireland