Nights turn raw in Rathangan each January, colder than in 94% of Irish towns
High summer brings afternoon highs near 20.0°C. Its July heat outdoes that of 69% of Irish towns. Compared with 1981–2010, the average now sits 0.2°C higher. Expect about 36 frosty starts a year, nights when the air falls below freezing.
Met Éireann 1991–2020 averages for the town’s own square kilometre.
A year in Rathangan at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Rathangan’s climate
Compared with Irish towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in County Kildare beside it.
What a year in Rathangan feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages.
36 frosts and 3 days of 25°C a year
Ground frosts, when the grass drops below 0°C, come on about 84 nights a year. Air frosts come mostly from October 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 Casement’s daily readings, 1991–2020, 38 km east of Rathangan: Met Éireann publishes these for its stations only. At that distance, read them as the area’s climate.
About 887 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and May the driest. 4th wettest of 14 towns of 2,500+ in County Kildare. The wettest month brings about 1.6 times the rain of the driest. Casement 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 Casement
Heating a home in Rathangan
84% 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 Rathangan’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 Casement comes by 26 April and the first by 2 November: about 190 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; Rathangan’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →Met Éireann’s nearest station: Casement
Casement is 38 km east of Rathangan, the nearest of the 25 synoptic stations where Met Éireann records the weather around the clock. The station stands 91 m above sea level; Rathangan’s centre, 77 m.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Air frosts | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.2°C | 2.4°C | 65 mm | 6.7 | 54 |
| February | 8.5°C | 2.1°C | 55 mm | 7.2 | 75 |
| March | 10.3°C | 2.8°C | 49 mm | 5.7 | 107 |
| April | 12.6°C | 4.1°C | 52 mm | 3.1 | 157 |
| May | 15.4°C | 6.6°C | 56 mm | 0.8 | 190 |
| June | 18.0°C | 9.2°C | 66 mm | 0.0 | 167 |
| July | 19.7°C | 11.2°C | 60 mm | 0.0 | 153 |
| August | 19.4°C | 10.9°C | 71 mm | 0.0 | 153 |
| September | 17.2°C | 9.0°C | 61 mm | 0.1 | 125 |
| October | 13.7°C | 6.7°C | 82 mm | 1.3 | 102 |
| November | 10.4°C | 4.3°C | 82 mm | 4.0 | 67 |
| December | 8.4°C | 2.6°C | 76 mm | 7.2 | 48 |
| Year | 13.5°C | 6.0°C | 774 mm | 36 | 1,397 |
The table is Casement’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 Rathangan itself; the frosts, sunshine and degree days are this station’s.
How Rathangan 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 Kildare.
Warmer than it used to be
Rathangan’s 1991–2020 average is 0.2°C warmer than 1981–2010’s. The biggest change is in April (+0.4°C).
A year’s rain is 887 mm, up 4% from 857 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.
Rathangan and its neighbours
Every town next door is within half a degree of Rathangan in January and July. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rathangan | 20.0°C | 1.9°C | 887 mm |
| Kildare 9.2 km | 19.9°C about the same | 1.8°C about the same | 896 mm |
| Monasterevin 10.0 km | 20.2°C about the same | 2.0°C about the same | 868 mm |
| Kilmeage 11 km | 19.8°C about the same | 1.7°C about the same | 885 mm |
| Allenwood 11 km | 20.0°C about the same | 1.9°C about the same | 869 mm |
| Newbridge 14 km | 20.0°C about the same | 1.9°C about the same | 901 mm |
| Derrinturn 14 km | 19.9°C about the same | 1.9°C about the same | 892 mm |
Each town’s colour is Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at its own centre, so towns a few kilometres apart can differ.
Rathangan 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 | 1.9°C | 5.0°C | 79 mm |
| February | 8.7°C | 1.8°C | 5.2°C | 65 mm |
| March | 10.6°C | 2.8°C | 6.7°C | 61 mm |
| April | 13.1°C | 4.2°C | 8.7°C | 60 mm |
| May | 15.9°C | 6.7°C | 11.3°C | 59 mm |
| June | 18.5°C | 9.4°C | 13.9°C | 70 mm |
| July | 20.0°C | 11.4°C | 15.7°C | 71 mm |
| August | 19.7°C | 11.1°C | 15.4°C | 80 mm |
| September | 17.5°C | 9.1°C | 13.3°C | 72 mm |
| October | 13.9°C | 6.4°C | 10.2°C | 93 mm |
| November | 10.4°C | 3.8°C | 7.1°C | 92 mm |
| December | 8.3°C | 2.1°C | 5.2°C | 86 mm |
| Year | 13.7°C | 5.9°C | 9.8°C | 887 mm |
How much a month can swing
December swings the most: over 30 years its average ranged from −0.5°C (2010) to 8.5°C (2015). July is the most reliable, staying within 3.7°C.
Where Rathangan’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 Rathangan’s population centre (0.4 km away).
- Weather station: the nearest of Met Éireann’s 25 synoptic stations, Casement, 38 km east, from Met Éireann’s station list.
- Frosts, sunshine, degree days: Casement’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 Rathangan’s climate
How warm does Rathangan get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 20.0°C.
How cold does Rathangan get in winter?
The coldest nights come in February, averaging 1.8°C. At Casement, the nearest Met Éireann station, the air drops below 0°C on about 36 nights a year (1991–2020).
How much rain does Rathangan get?
About 887 mm a year, less than 57% of Irish towns. October is the wettest month (93 mm) and May the driest (59 mm).
How sunny is it?
Casement, 38 km east, averages about 1,397 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 Rathangan itself?
Partly. The temperatures and rain are Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid, read at Rathangan’s population centre; the frosts, degree days and year-to-year swings are those of Casement, 38 km 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 Rathangan’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 Rathangan →
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).