| The Marine Unit
Marine Climatology
Weather reports are provided for general climatological or legal purposes.
These are written reports of the weather at a particular time and location
and are based on the routine weather charts drawn up by the forecasters
and on the data stored in Met Éireann's climatological data-base.
Weather
observations from ships, buoys, lighthouses, lightvessels, oil rigs and
gas platforms and some from satellites are stored in the climatological
data-base as is some of the wave model output and verification and statistical
products are provided.
Sea Temperatures
Ireland's temperate climate is mainly due to the moderating influence
of the sea. The waters around our coasts are remarkably warm - 7° to 8°C
warmer than the average global sea temperature at these latitudes thanks
to the warm North Atlantic Drift, the main ocean current effecting Ireland
. The prevailing southwesterly winds transfer the heat from the sea to
the land.
| YEAR / MONTH |
2007 Automatic |
2008 Automatic |
1961-1990 Manual |
| JANUARY |
8.5 |
8.0 |
7.3 |
| FEBRUARY |
7.7 |
7.8 |
6.7 |
| MARCH |
8.1 |
7.9 |
7 |
| APRIL |
9.9 |
8.8 |
8.1 |
| MAY |
11.5 |
10.6 |
9.9 |
| JUNE |
12.5 |
12.9 |
12 |
| JULY |
13.5 |
14.3 |
13.8 |
| AUGUST |
14.9 |
15.1 |
14.6 |
| SEPTEMBER |
14.6 |
14.6 |
14 |
| OCTOBER |
13.4 |
|
12.4 |
| NOVEMBER |
11.6 |
|
10.2 |
| DECEMBER |
9.3 |
|
8.5 |
Note: On 1 August 2007 the manual sea surface temperature readings at
Malin Head were discontinued and the automatic readings became the official
data. For more than 3 years an overlap between the manual and automatic
readings were recorded, and a difference of 0.8º C between both
sets was apparent, mainly due to difference in location.
Disclaimer: the above figures for 2007 and 2008 are provisional and
may be subject to change after quality control and before official release.
Sea temperatures off the Irish coast range from an average of 10° C
off the south-west coast to less than 7° off the north-east coast
during February, and from 16° C in the south to 13° C in the
north Irish Sea in August.
Highest and lowest temperatures occur somewhat later in the year at
sea than over land. Water takes longer to warm up and cool down. In general,
sea temperatures are higher than those of the air during the winter,
while the reverse is the case during the summer months. The differences
in both cases are comparatively small, less than 5° C but they are
large enough to have a major influence on our climate. |
