Cobh has cooler summers than 82% of Irish towns
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near 3.4°C. By January nights alone, it runs milder than 82% of Irish towns. Since 1981–2010, the year has warmed by 0.2°C, most of all in September. Picnics, hikes and garden evenings come into their own from June to September, with highs of 18–20°C.
Met Éireann 1991–2020 averages for the town’s own square kilometre.
A year in Cobh at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Cobh’s climate
Compared with Irish towns, with its place among towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ in County Cork beside it.
What a year in Cobh feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 5 air frosts a year
Air frosts come mostly from December to January, most of all in January (about 2).
Air frosts by month
Average nights below 0°C
Counted from Roches Point’s daily readings, 1993–2020, 7.9 km south-east of Cobh: Met Éireann publishes these for its stations only.
About 1,091 mm of rain a year
December is the wettest month and May the driest. 43rd wettest of 54 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ in County Cork. The wettest month brings about 1.7 times the rain of the driest. Roches Point records 1 mm or more on about 149 days a year, and 10 mm on about 30.
Rain by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in Cobh
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to April.
Degree days add up how far each day’s mean temperature falls below 15.5°C over a year.
Living with Cobh’s climate
What the averages mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.
Frost comes in about 53% of winters at Roches Point, so tender plants can often stay out through winter.
Highs of 17–27°C with lows of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Averages smooth over storms, floods and heatwaves; Cobh’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →Met Éireann’s nearest station: Roches Point
Roches Point is 7.9 km south-east of Cobh, the nearest of the 25 synoptic stations where Met Éireann records the weather around the clock. The station stands 40 m above sea level; Cobh’s centre, 78 m.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Air frosts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.0°C | 4.6°C | 101 mm | 1.6 |
| February | 9.3°C | 4.6°C | 67 mm | 0.9 |
| March | 10.2°C | 4.9°C | 71 mm | 0.8 |
| April | 12.2°C | 6.5°C | 69 mm | 0.1 |
| May | 14.3°C | 8.5°C | 62 mm | 0.0 |
| June | 17.0°C | 10.9°C | 72 mm | 0.0 |
| July | 18.6°C | 12.6°C | 75 mm | 0.0 |
| August | 18.4°C | 12.6°C | 75 mm | 0.0 |
| September | 16.7°C | 11.1°C | 69 mm | 0.0 |
| October | 14.2°C | 9.3°C | 98 mm | 0.0 |
| November | 11.2°C | 6.7°C | 101 mm | 0.2 |
| December | 9.5°C | 5.1°C | 115 mm | 1.3 |
| Year | 13.4°C | 8.1°C | 972 mm | 5 |
The table is Roches Point’s own record, averaged over 1993–2020 from its daily readings (ours, not a Met Éireann table). The temperatures and rain elsewhere on this page are Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at Cobh itself; the frosts and degree days are this station’s.
How Cobh compares
Against the 321 Irish towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from Met Éireann’s grid at its own centre, and its place among towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ in County Cork.
Warmer than it used to be
Cobh’s 1991–2020 average is 0.2°C warmer than 1981–2010’s. The biggest change is in April (+0.3°C).
A year’s rain is 1,091 mm, up 2% from 1,065 mm.
Change by month
The two periods share 1991–2010, so the gap is a decade’s step, not the change between two separate 30-year periods.
Cobh and its neighbours
Glounthaune has the warmest July afternoons (20.2°C, 0.7°C warmer). Choose a measure to recolour the map; tap a town for its climate.
The towns next door, side by side
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 19 km: a hill, a valley or the sea can make a real difference over a short distance.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cobh | 19.5°C | 3.4°C | 1,091 mm |
| Passage West-Monkstown 2.9 km | 19.8°C about the same | 3.5°C about the same | 1,097 mm |
| Crosshaven 5.9 km | 19.2°C about the same | 3.9°C 0.5°C milder | 1,075 mm |
| Whitegate 6.1 km | 19.4°C about the same | 3.9°C 0.5°C milder | 1,039 mm |
| Aghada-Rostellan 6.6 km | 19.3°C about the same | 3.6°C about the same | 1,059 mm |
| Glounthaune 7.1 km | 20.2°C 0.7°C warmer | 3.6°C about the same | 1,109 mm |
| Carrigtwohill 7.3 km | 20.1°C 0.6°C warmer | 3.6°C about the same | 1,096 mm |
Each town’s colour is Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at its own centre, so towns a few kilometres apart can differ.
Cobh weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, for the town itself (Met Éireann’s 1 km grid).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.1°C | 3.4°C | 6.2°C | 112 mm |
| February | 9.5°C | 3.4°C | 6.4°C | 84 mm |
| March | 10.7°C | 4.1°C | 7.4°C | 81 mm |
| April | 12.9°C | 5.4°C | 9.1°C | 74 mm |
| May | 15.5°C | 7.9°C | 11.7°C | 71 mm |
| June | 18.0°C | 10.4°C | 14.2°C | 73 mm |
| July | 19.5°C | 12.1°C | 15.8°C | 77 mm |
| August | 19.4°C | 11.9°C | 15.7°C | 86 mm |
| September | 17.6°C | 10.3°C | 14.0°C | 81 mm |
| October | 14.3°C | 8.0°C | 11.2°C | 117 mm |
| November | 11.3°C | 5.4°C | 8.3°C | 114 mm |
| December | 9.5°C | 3.9°C | 6.7°C | 122 mm |
| Year | 13.9°C | 7.2°C | 10.6°C | 1,091 mm |
How much a month can swing
December swings the most: over 21 years its average ranged from 3.3°C (2010) to 9.7°C (2015). September is the most reliable, staying within 2.6°C.
Where Cobh’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast: the town’s own from Met Éireann’s grid, the frosts and degree days from its nearest station.
- Temperature and rain: Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid (Climatological Notes 22 and 23), read at the grid point nearest Cobh’s population centre (0.3 km away).
- Weather station: the nearest of Met Éireann’s 25 synoptic stations, Roches Point, 7.9 km south-east, from Met Éireann’s station list.
- Frosts and degree days: Roches Point’s daily readings from Met Éireann (clidata.met.ie), 1993–2020, averaged by month: a month counts when 27 or more of its days were read (rain and sunshine: every day), and a figure needs 10 such years.
- Then and now: Met Éireann’s 1981–2010 averages on the same 1 km grid, at the same point.
- Altitudes: the town’s ground from the Copernicus GLO-30 surface model (a few metres high in built-up places), the station’s from Met Éireann.
- Comparisons: every Irish town and city neighbourhood of 2,500 or more, read the same way; the five city totals are left out.
- Not on this page: sunshine at this station, snow and wind. Met Éireann publishes none of them on a grid; the frosts here are its nearest station’s, not the town’s own.
Met Éireann 30-year averages · Met Éireann open data. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Questions about Cobh’s climate
How warm does Cobh get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 19.5°C.
How cold does Cobh get in winter?
The coldest nights come in January, averaging 3.4°C. At Roches Point, the nearest Met Éireann station, the air drops below 0°C on about 5 nights a year (1993–2020).
How much rain does Cobh get?
About 1,091 mm a year, more than 71% of Irish towns. December is the wettest month (122 mm) and May the driest (71 mm).
How sunny is it?
Met Éireann publishes its 1991–2020 sunshine averages for its weather stations only, not on the 1 km grid this page reads, so there is no sunshine figure for Cobh itself. Its nearest synoptic station is Roches Point.
Are these figures for Cobh itself?
Partly. The temperatures and rain are Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid, read at Cobh’s population centre; the frosts, degree days and year-to-year swings are those of Roches Point, 7.9 km south-east, the nearest of its synoptic stations.
Where do these figures come from?
Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 climate averages, published as maps of Ireland in 1 km squares (Climatological Notes 22 and 23); the page reads the square at Cobh’s population centre. They are 30-year averages, not a forecast.
Copyright Met Éireann. Source: www.met.ie. This data is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Met Éireann does not accept any liability whatsoever for any error or omission in the data, their availability, or for any loss or damage arising from their use. This material has been modified from the original: TownRatings reads the 1 km grid at each town’s population centre. Today’s forecast for Cobh →
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).