Balla sits near the bottom of Irish towns for July heat
January mornings start at about 2.5°C. Its yearly rainfall tops that of 94% of Irish towns. The latest 30-year average runs 0.2°C warmer than 1981–2010’s, with February up the most. 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 Balla at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Balla’s climate
Compared with Irish towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in County Mayo beside it.
What a year in Balla 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 92 nights a year. Air frosts come mostly from October to April, most of all in February (about 8).
Air frosts by month
Average nights below 0°C
Ground frosts by month
Average nights with the grass below 0°C
Counted from Claremorris’s daily readings, 1991–2020, 14 km south-east of Balla: Met Éireann publishes these for its stations only.
About 1,301 mm of rain a year
December is the wettest month and April the driest. 4th wettest of 7 towns of 2,500+ in County Mayo. The wettest month brings about 1.9 times the rain of the driest. Claremorris records 1 mm or more on about 193 days a year, and 10 mm on about 38.
Rain by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in Balla
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 Balla’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 Claremorris comes by 17 April and the first by 4 November: about 201 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; Balla’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →Met Éireann’s nearest station: Claremorris
Claremorris is 14 km south-east of Balla, the nearest of the 25 synoptic stations where Met Éireann records the weather around the clock. The station stands 68 m above sea level; Balla’s centre, 40 m.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Air frosts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.0°C | 2.3°C | 140 mm | 7.4 |
| February | 8.5°C | 1.9°C | 111 mm | 8.4 |
| March | 10.3°C | 2.9°C | 98 mm | 5.5 |
| April | 12.9°C | 4.2°C | 79 mm | 2.2 |
| May | 15.5°C | 6.4°C | 69 mm | 0.5 |
| June | 17.6°C | 9.1°C | 73 mm | 0.0 |
| July | 18.8°C | 10.8°C | 93 mm | 0.0 |
| August | 18.6°C | 10.6°C | 103 mm | 0.0 |
| September | 16.8°C | 8.8°C | 90 mm | 0.1 |
| October | 13.5°C | 6.2°C | 120 mm | 1.0 |
| November | 10.3°C | 4.0°C | 135 mm | 3.8 |
| December | 8.0°C | 2.5°C | 138 mm | 6.7 |
| Year | 13.2°C | 5.8°C | 1,250 mm | 36 |
The table is Claremorris’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 Balla itself; the frosts and degree days are this station’s.
How Balla 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 Mayo.
Warmer than it used to be
Balla’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 1,301 mm, up 3% from 1,268 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.
Balla and its neighbours
Knock has the coldest January nights next door (2.0°C, 0.5°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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balla | 18.9°C | 2.5°C | 1,301 mm |
| Kiltimagh 10 km | 18.8°C about the same | 2.3°C about the same | 1,322 mm |
| Claremorris 12 km | 18.7°C about the same | 2.1°C about the same | 1,284 mm |
| Castlebar 12 km | 18.7°C about the same | 2.6°C about the same | 1,467 mm |
| Knock 14 km | 18.6°C about the same | 2.0°C 0.5°C colder | 1,308 mm |
Each town’s colour is Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at its own centre, so towns a few kilometres apart can differ.
Balla 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 | 8.3°C | 2.5°C | 5.4°C | 141 mm |
| February | 8.9°C | 2.4°C | 5.7°C | 116 mm |
| March | 10.6°C | 3.3°C | 6.9°C | 99 mm |
| April | 13.1°C | 4.7°C | 8.9°C | 79 mm |
| May | 15.8°C | 7.0°C | 11.4°C | 79 mm |
| June | 17.9°C | 9.6°C | 13.7°C | 81 mm |
| July | 18.9°C | 11.5°C | 15.2°C | 91 mm |
| August | 18.7°C | 11.3°C | 15.0°C | 103 mm |
| September | 17.0°C | 9.5°C | 13.2°C | 97 mm |
| October | 13.7°C | 6.9°C | 10.3°C | 125 mm |
| November | 10.6°C | 4.5°C | 7.5°C | 144 mm |
| December | 8.6°C | 2.8°C | 5.7°C | 146 mm |
| Year | 13.5°C | 6.3°C | 9.9°C | 1,301 mm |
How much a month can swing
December swings the most: over 30 years its average ranged from −0.4°C (2010) to 7.4°C (2018). April is the most reliable, staying within 4.0°C.
Where Balla’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 Balla’s population centre (0.6 km away).
- Weather station: the nearest of Met Éireann’s 25 synoptic stations, Claremorris, 14 km south-east, from Met Éireann’s station list.
- Frosts and degree days: Claremorris’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: 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 Balla’s climate
How warm does Balla get in summer?
The warmest month is July, when afternoons average 18.9°C.
How cold does Balla get in winter?
February nights average 2.4°C, the coldest of the year. At Claremorris, the nearest Met Éireann station, the air drops below 0°C on about 36 nights a year (1991–2020).
How much rain does Balla get?
About 1,301 mm a year, more than 94% of Irish towns. December is the wettest month (146 mm) and April the driest (79 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 Balla itself. Its nearest synoptic station is Claremorris.
Are these figures for Balla itself?
Partly. The temperatures and rain are Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid, read at Balla’s population centre; the frosts, degree days and year-to-year swings are those of Claremorris, 14 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 Balla’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 Balla →
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).