Ardara has some of the coolest summers among Irish towns
January mornings start at about 2.8°C. Expect the heaviest rain in November and the lightest in April. Its yearly rainfall tops that of almost every Irish town. Radiators earn their keep from November to April, the months that average under 10°C.
Met Éireann 1991–2020 averages for the town’s own square kilometre.
A year in Ardara at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Ardara’s climate
Compared with Irish towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in County Donegal beside it.
What a year in Ardara feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 1,614 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and April the driest. The wettest of 7 towns of 2,500+ in County Donegal. The wettest month brings about 2.2 times the rain of the driest.
Rain by month
Millimetres
Living with Ardara’s climate
What the averages mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.
Highs of 17–27°C with lows of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Averages smooth over storms, floods and heatwaves; Ardara’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →Met Éireann’s nearest station: Finner
Finner is 32 km south of Ardara, the nearest of the 25 synoptic stations where Met Éireann records the weather around the clock.
| Distance from the town | 32 km south |
| Station altitude | 33 m |
| Town altitude (its centre) | 31 m |
The figures on this page are not this station’s readings: they are Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at Ardara itself, which it builds from its whole network of stations.
How Ardara 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 of 2,500+ in County Donegal.
Warmer than it used to be
Ardara’s 1991–2020 average is 0.2°C warmer than 1981–2010’s. The biggest change is in February (+0.4°C).
A year’s rain is 1,614 mm, up 4% from 1,555 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.
Nearby towns’ climate
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ardara | 18.1°C | 2.8°C | 1,614 mm |
| Killybegs 14 km | 17.9°C about the same | 3.0°C about the same | 1,771 mm |
Ardara 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 | 8.1°C | 2.8°C | 5.5°C | 184 mm |
| February | 8.6°C | 2.7°C | 5.6°C | 146 mm |
| March | 9.9°C | 3.6°C | 6.7°C | 119 mm |
| April | 12.3°C | 5.1°C | 8.7°C | 86 mm |
| May | 15.0°C | 7.3°C | 11.2°C | 90 mm |
| June | 17.0°C | 9.8°C | 13.4°C | 90 mm |
| July | 18.1°C | 11.5°C | 14.8°C | 104 mm |
| August | 18.0°C | 11.5°C | 14.7°C | 121 mm |
| September | 16.4°C | 9.9°C | 13.1°C | 128 mm |
| October | 13.2°C | 7.5°C | 10.3°C | 167 mm |
| November | 10.3°C | 5.1°C | 7.7°C | 190 mm |
| December | 8.5°C | 3.2°C | 5.9°C | 188 mm |
| Year | 12.9°C | 6.7°C | 9.8°C | 1,614 mm |
Where Ardara’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 Ardara’s population centre (0.4 km away).
- Weather station: the nearest of Met Éireann’s 25 synoptic stations, Finner, 32 km south, from Met Éireann’s station list.
- Frosts and degree days: Finner’s daily readings from Met Éireann (clidata.met.ie), 2011–2020, 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 Ardara’s climate
How warm does Ardara get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 18.1°C.
How cold does Ardara get in winter?
The coldest nights come in February, averaging 2.7°C. Met Éireann counts frosts only at its weather stations, so there is no frost count for the town itself.
How much rain does Ardara get?
About 1,614 mm a year, more than almost every Irish town. November is the wettest month (190 mm) and April the driest (86 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 Ardara itself. Its nearest synoptic station is Finner.
Are these figures for Ardara itself?
Partly. The temperatures and rain are Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid, read at Ardara’s population centre; the frosts, degree days and year-to-year swings are those of Finner, 32 km south, 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 Ardara’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 Ardara →
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).