Ardagh is wetter than 88% of Irish towns: 1,223 mm of rain a year
Sunny July days climb to about 19.4°C. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 86% of Irish towns. Compared with 1981–2010, the average now sits 0.2°C higher. Central heating does most of its work from November to April, in months below 10°C on average.
Met Éireann 1991–2020 averages for the town’s own square kilometre.
A year in Ardagh at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Ardagh’s climate
Compared with Irish towns, with its place among towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ in County Limerick beside it.
What a year in Ardagh feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages.
18 frosts and 4 days of 25°C a year
Ground frosts, when the grass drops below 0°C, come on about 71 nights a year. Air frosts come mostly from November to March, most of all in January (about 5).
Air frosts by month
Average nights below 0°C
Ground frosts by month
Average nights with the grass below 0°C
Counted from Shannon Airport’s daily readings, 1991–2020, 24 km north-east of Ardagh: Met Éireann publishes these for its stations only.
About 1,223 mm of rain a year
December is the wettest month and May the driest. The wettest of 16 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ in County Limerick. The wettest month brings about 2.1 times the rain of the driest. Shannon Airport records 1 mm or more on about 168 days a year, and 10 mm on about 28.
Rain by month
Millimetres
Sunshine by month
Hours, at Shannon Airport
Heating a home in Ardagh
87% 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 Ardagh’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 Shannon Airport comes by 20 March and the first by 18 November: about 243 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; Ardagh’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →Met Éireann’s nearest station: Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport is 24 km north-east of Ardagh, the nearest of the 25 synoptic stations where Met Éireann records the weather around the clock. The station stands 15 m above sea level; Ardagh’s centre, 81 m.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Air frosts | Sun (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.9°C | 3.5°C | 103 mm | 4.5 | 52 |
| February | 9.5°C | 3.4°C | 87 mm | 4.2 | 69 |
| March | 11.1°C | 4.1°C | 77 mm | 2.8 | 111 |
| April | 13.6°C | 5.6°C | 62 mm | 0.8 | 162 |
| May | 16.2°C | 8.1°C | 63 mm | 0.0 | 183 |
| June | 18.5°C | 10.7°C | 69 mm | 0.0 | 165 |
| July | 19.6°C | 12.6°C | 76 mm | 0.0 | 135 |
| August | 19.4°C | 12.4°C | 88 mm | 0.0 | 143 |
| September | 17.7°C | 10.6°C | 77 mm | 0.0 | 118 |
| October | 14.4°C | 8.0°C | 95 mm | 0.4 | 93 |
| November | 11.2°C | 5.5°C | 107 mm | 1.6 | 62 |
| December | 9.2°C | 3.9°C | 115 mm | 4.0 | 46 |
| Year | 14.1°C | 7.4°C | 1,020 mm | 18 | 1,338 |
The table is Shannon 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 Ardagh itself; the frosts, sunshine and degree days are this station’s.
How Ardagh 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 Limerick.
Warmer than it used to be
Ardagh’s 1991–2020 average is 0.2°C warmer than 1981–2010’s. The biggest change is in February (+0.3°C).
A year’s rain is 1,223 mm, up 2% from 1,205 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.
Ardagh and its neighbours
Every town next door is within half a degree of Ardagh 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ardagh | 19.4°C | 2.9°C | 1,223 mm |
| Newcastle West 4.7 km | 19.6°C about the same | 2.9°C about the same | 1,206 mm |
| Rathkeale 9.0 km | 19.7°C about the same | 3.0°C about the same | 1,007 mm |
| Askeaton 13 km | 19.7°C about the same | 3.2°C about the same | 1,031 mm |
Each town’s colour is Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at its own centre, so towns a few kilometres apart can differ.
Ardagh 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 | 8.9°C | 2.9°C | 5.9°C | 138 mm |
| February | 9.3°C | 2.8°C | 6.0°C | 110 mm |
| March | 10.9°C | 3.6°C | 7.3°C | 93 mm |
| April | 13.3°C | 4.9°C | 9.1°C | 74 mm |
| May | 16.0°C | 7.3°C | 11.6°C | 72 mm |
| June | 18.2°C | 9.9°C | 14.1°C | 74 mm |
| July | 19.4°C | 11.8°C | 15.6°C | 80 mm |
| August | 19.3°C | 11.6°C | 15.5°C | 91 mm |
| September | 17.6°C | 9.8°C | 13.7°C | 91 mm |
| October | 14.2°C | 7.3°C | 10.7°C | 116 mm |
| November | 11.1°C | 4.8°C | 8.0°C | 136 mm |
| December | 9.2°C | 3.4°C | 6.3°C | 149 mm |
| Year | 13.9°C | 6.7°C | 10.3°C | 1,223 mm |
How much a month can swing
December swings the most: over 30 years its average ranged from 0.7°C (2010) to 9.2°C (2015). September is the most reliable, staying within 3.5°C.
Where Ardagh’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 Ardagh’s population centre (0.5 km away).
- Weather station: the nearest of Met Éireann’s 25 synoptic stations, Shannon Airport, 24 km north-east, from Met Éireann’s station list.
- Frosts, sunshine, degree days: Shannon 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 Ardagh’s climate
How warm does Ardagh get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 19.4°C.
How cold does Ardagh get in winter?
The coldest nights come in February, averaging 2.8°C. At Shannon Airport, the nearest Met Éireann station, the air drops below 0°C on about 18 nights a year (1991–2020).
How much rain does Ardagh get?
About 1,223 mm a year, more than 88% of Irish towns. December is the wettest month (149 mm) and May the driest (72 mm).
How sunny is it?
Shannon Airport, 24 km north-east, averages about 1,338 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 Ardagh itself?
Partly. The temperatures and rain are Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid, read at Ardagh’s population centre; the frosts, degree days and year-to-year swings are those of Shannon Airport, 24 km north-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 Ardagh’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 Ardagh →
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).