Hardly any Irish towns collect less rain than Donabate: 725 mm a year
January mornings start at about 3.4°C. Only 16°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. Winters are mild: January nights here are milder than in 82% of Irish towns. Warm coats and heating bills mark the months from November to April, when means dip under 10°C.
Met Éireann 1991–2020 averages for the town’s own square kilometre.
A year in Donabate at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Donabate’s climate
Compared with Irish towns, with its place among towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ in County Dublin beside it.
What a year in Donabate feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 35 air frosts a year
Ground frosts, when the grass drops below 0°C, come on about 87 nights a year. Air frosts come mostly from November to April, most of all in February (about 7).
Air frosts by month
Average nights below 0°C
Ground frosts by month
Average nights with the grass below 0°C
Counted from Dublin Airport’s daily readings, 1991–2020, 9.2 km south-west of Donabate: Met Éireann publishes these for its stations only.
About 725 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and February the driest. 115th wettest of 116 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ in County Dublin. The wettest month brings about 1.7 times the rain of the driest. Dublin Airport records 1 mm or more on about 136 days a year, and 10 mm on about 18.
Rain by month
Millimetres
Sunshine by month
Hours, at Dublin Airport
Heating a home in Donabate
83% 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 Donabate’s climate
What the averages mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.
In half of years the last air frost at Dublin Airport comes by 20 April and the first by 3 November: about 197 frost-free days in between.
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; Donabate’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →Met Éireann’s nearest station: Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport is 9.2 km south-west of Donabate, the nearest of the 25 synoptic stations where Met Éireann records the weather around the clock. The station stands 71 m above sea level; Donabate’s centre, 7 m.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Air frosts | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.2°C | 2.4°C | 62 mm | 6.9 | 60 |
| February | 8.6°C | 2.2°C | 52 mm | 7.2 | 81 |
| March | 10.2°C | 2.7°C | 51 mm | 5.9 | 115 |
| April | 12.3°C | 3.9°C | 55 mm | 3.7 | 161 |
| May | 15.0°C | 6.3°C | 57 mm | 0.7 | 197 |
| June | 17.7°C | 8.9°C | 64 mm | 0.0 | 178 |
| July | 19.4°C | 11.0°C | 62 mm | 0.0 | 158 |
| August | 19.1°C | 10.8°C | 74 mm | 0.0 | 155 |
| September | 17.0°C | 9.0°C | 62 mm | 0.0 | 131 |
| October | 13.7°C | 6.7°C | 79 mm | 0.8 | 104 |
| November | 10.4°C | 4.3°C | 83 mm | 3.1 | 72 |
| December | 8.4°C | 2.7°C | 72 mm | 6.8 | 56 |
| Year | 13.3°C | 5.9°C | 772 mm | 35 | 1,468 |
The table is Dublin Airport’s own record, averaged over 1991–2020 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 Donabate itself; the frosts, sunshine and degree days are this station’s.
How Donabate 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 Dublin.
Warmer than it used to be
Donabate’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 725 mm, up 3% from 703 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.
Donabate and its neighbours
Swords has the coldest January nights next door (2.8°C, 0.6°C colder). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donabate | 19.6°C | 3.4°C | 725 mm |
| Portrane 2.5 km | 19.6°C about the same | 3.6°C about the same | 714 mm |
| Lusk 4.1 km | 19.5°C about the same | 3.3°C about the same | 755 mm |
| Malahide 5.1 km | 19.7°C about the same | 3.2°C about the same | 733 mm |
| Rush 5.4 km | 19.4°C about the same | 3.5°C about the same | 738 mm |
| Kinsealy-Drinan 6.3 km | 19.7°C about the same | 3.0°C about the same | 763 mm |
| Swords 6.5 km | 19.7°C about the same | 2.8°C 0.6°C colder | 778 mm |
Each town’s colour is Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at its own centre, so towns a few kilometres apart can differ.
Donabate 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 | 8.7°C | 3.4°C | 6.1°C | 58 mm |
| February | 9.1°C | 3.3°C | 6.2°C | 48 mm |
| March | 10.6°C | 4.1°C | 7.4°C | 49 mm |
| April | 12.6°C | 5.6°C | 9.1°C | 49 mm |
| May | 15.2°C | 7.9°C | 11.6°C | 53 mm |
| June | 17.9°C | 10.5°C | 14.2°C | 59 mm |
| July | 19.6°C | 12.3°C | 15.9°C | 58 mm |
| August | 19.4°C | 12.3°C | 15.9°C | 68 mm |
| September | 17.5°C | 10.7°C | 14.1°C | 61 mm |
| October | 14.2°C | 8.3°C | 11.3°C | 75 mm |
| November | 11.1°C | 5.6°C | 8.4°C | 80 mm |
| December | 9.0°C | 3.7°C | 6.3°C | 68 mm |
| Year | 13.8°C | 7.3°C | 10.5°C | 725 mm |
How much a month can swing
December swings the most: over 30 years its average ranged from −0.1°C (2010) to 8.6°C (2015). July is the most reliable, staying within 3.1°C.
Where Donabate’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast: the town’s own from Met Éireann’s grid, the frosts, sunshine 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 Donabate’s population centre (0.5 km away).
- Weather station: the nearest of Met Éireann’s 25 synoptic stations, Dublin Airport, 9.2 km south-west, from Met Éireann’s station list.
- Frosts, sunshine, degree days: Dublin Airport’s daily readings from Met Éireann (clidata.met.ie), 1991–2020, 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: snow and wind. Met Éireann publishes neither on a grid; the frosts and sunshine 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 Donabate’s climate
How warm does Donabate get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 19.6°C.
How cold does Donabate get in winter?
The coldest nights come in February, averaging 3.3°C. At Dublin Airport, the nearest Met Éireann station, the air drops below 0°C on about 35 nights a year (1991–2020).
How much rain does Donabate get?
About 725 mm a year, less than almost every Irish town. November is the wettest month (80 mm) and February the driest (48 mm).
How sunny is it?
Dublin Airport, 9.2 km south-west, averages about 1,468 hours of sunshine a year (1991–2020, from its daily record). Met Éireann publishes no sunshine figure for the town itself.
Are these figures for Donabate itself?
Partly. The temperatures and rain are Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid, read at Donabate’s population centre; the frosts, degree days and year-to-year swings are those of Dublin Airport, 9.2 km south-west, 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 Donabate’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 Donabate →
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).