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Climate in Ballyforan · Met Éireann 1991–2020 averages

January in Ballyforan bites harder than in 81% of Irish towns

Midsummer highs settle at about 19.6°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 77% of Irish towns. Compared with 1981–2010, the average now sits 0.2°C higher. Windscreens need scraping on about 52 mornings a year, the nights the air drops below 0°C.

July afternoons: cooler than 77% of Irish towns
January nights: colder than 81% of Irish towns
Rain a year: wetter than 65% of Irish towns

Met Éireann 1991–2020 averages for the town’s own square kilometre.

A year in Ballyforan at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan8°C2°C
Feb9°C2°CColdest nights
Mar11°C3°C
Apr13°C5°CLast frost ~30 Apr
May16°C7°C
Jun18°C10°C
Jul20°C11°CWarmest
Aug19°C11°C
Sep17°C9°C
Oct14°C7°CFirst frost ~9 Oct
Nov now11°C4°C
Dec8°C2°CWettest

What stands out about Ballyforan’s climate

Compared with Irish towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in County Roscommon beside it.

A normal year

What a year in Ballyforan feels like

Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages.

Winter
8°C / 2°C
308 mm of rain, the wettest season
Spring
13°C / 5°C
214 mm of rain
Summer
19°C / 11°C
244 mm of rain
Autumn
14°C / 7°C
290 mm of rain
Best months to be outsideJunJulAugSepHighs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more
Frost & warm days

52 frosts and 4 days of 25°C a year

Air frosts come mostly from October to May, most of all in March (about 10).

52
Air frosts a year (below 0°C)
4
Days of 25°C or more

Air frosts by month

Average nights below 0°C

10
JFMAMJJASOND

Counted from Mount Dillon’s daily readings, 2004–2020, 34 km north-east of Ballyforan: Met Éireann publishes these for its stations only. At that distance, read them as the area’s climate.

Rain

About 1,055 mm of rain a year

December is the wettest month and May the driest. 3rd wettest of 3 towns of 2,500+ in County Roscommon. The wettest month brings about 1.7 times the rain of the driest. Mount Dillon records 1 mm or more on about 175 days a year, and 10 mm on about 30.

1,055 mm
Rain a year
Wetter than 65% of Irish towns
115 mm
December, the wettest month
66 mm
May, the driest month

Rain by month

Millimetres

115 mm
JFMAMJJASOND
Heating

Heating a home in Ballyforan

83% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to April.

2,267 heating degree days (below 15.5°C)a year, 2004–2020

Degree days add up how far each day’s mean temperature falls below 15.5°C over a year.

Living here

Living with Ballyforan’s climate

What the averages mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.

The garden window

In half of years the last air frost at Mount Dillon comes by 30 April and the first by 9 October: about 162 frost-free days in between.

Get outside

Highs of 17–27°C with lows of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.

Parks & trails →
Storms and extremes

Averages smooth over storms, floods and heatwaves; Ballyforan’s hazards page covers the risks.

Flood & hazards →
Weather station

Met Éireann’s nearest station: Mount Dillon

Mount Dillon is 34 km north-east of Ballyforan, the nearest of the 25 synoptic stations where Met Éireann records the weather around the clock. The station stands 39 m above sea level; Ballyforan’s centre, 49 m.

MonthHighLowRainAir frosts
January7.9°C1.9°C110 mm8.6
February8.6°C1.7°C79 mm9.1
March10.4°C1.8°C81 mm10.1
April13.5°C3.2°C61 mm4.6
May16.1°C5.8°C73 mm1.4
June18.8°C8.6°C82 mm0.0
July19.9°C10.5°C84 mm0.0
August18.8°C10.2°C105 mm0.1
September17.2°C8.0°C80 mm0.6
October13.9°C5.6°C101 mm2.8
November10.1°C3.3°C104 mm6.4
December8.1°C2.0°C118 mm8.5
Year13.6°C5.2°C1,076 mm52

The table is Mount Dillon’s own record, averaged over 2004–2020 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 Ballyforan itself; the frosts and degree days are this station’s.

Compared with other towns

How Ballyforan 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 Roscommon.

July afternoons19.6°C
BallyforanMedian Irish town
18°C19°C20°C21°C
Cooler than 77% of Irish townsThe warmest of 3 towns of 2,500+ in County Roscommon
January nights2.2°C
BallyforanMedian Irish town
0°C1°C2°C3°C4°C
Colder than 81% of Irish townsThe mildest of 3 towns of 2,500+ in County Roscommon
Rain a year1,055 mm
BallyforanMedian Irish town
8001,0001,2001,400
Wetter than 65% of Irish towns3rd wettest of 3 towns of 2,500+ in County Roscommon
Then and now

Warmer than it used to be

Ballyforan’s 1991–2020 average is 0.2°C warmer than 1981–2010’s. The biggest change is in February (+0.4°C).

+0.2°C1991–2020 vs 1981–2010

A year’s rain is 1,055 mm, up 3% from 1,022 mm.

Winter+0.3°Cnow 5°C, was 5°C
Spring+0.2°Cnow 9°C, was 9°C
Summer+0.2°Cnow 15°C, was 15°C
Autumn+0.3°Cnow 10°C, was 10°C

Change by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

The two periods share 1991–2010, so the gap is a decade’s step, not the change between two separate 30-year periods.

Next door

Ballyforan and its neighbours

Every town next door is within half a degree of Ballyforan in January and July. Choose a measure to recolour the map; tap a town for its climate.

Ballinasloe: January low 2.3°C, July high 19.7°CRoscommon: January low 2.1°C, July high 19.5°CBallyforan: January low 2.2°C, July high 19.6°CBallyforanBallinasloeRoscommon
ColderMilder2.1°C to 2.3°C
Roscommon2.1°C about the same
Ballyforan2.2°C
Ballinasloe2.3°C about the same

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.

TownJuly highJanuary lowRain a year
Ballyforan19.6°C2.2°C1,055 mm
Ballinasloe 16 km19.7°C about the same2.3°C about the same1,023 mm
Roscommon 18 km19.5°C about the same2.1°C about the same1,094 mm

Each town’s colour is Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at its own centre, so towns a few kilometres apart can differ.

Month by month

Ballyforan weather by month

Average daily high and low, mean temperature and rain, 1991–2020, for the town itself (Met Éireann’s 1 km grid).

MonthHighLowMeanRain
January8.2°C2.2°C5.2°C109 mm
February8.8°C2.1°C5.5°C84 mm
March10.6°C3.0°C6.8°C79 mm
April13.3°C4.5°C8.9°C68 mm
May16.0°C6.9°C11.4°C66 mm
June18.4°C9.5°C13.9°C76 mm
July19.6°C11.4°C15.5°C79 mm
August19.3°C11.2°C15.3°C89 mm
September17.3°C9.2°C13.3°C79 mm
October13.8°C6.6°C10.2°C102 mm
November10.5°C4.1°C7.3°C108 mm
December8.4°C2.4°C5.4°C115 mm
Year13.7°C6.1°C9.9°C1,055 mm
Year to year

How much a month can swing

December swings the most: over 17 years its average ranged from −1.5°C (2010) to 7.5°C (2015). August is the most reliable, staying within 2.2°C.

Coldest to warmest month in 17 yearsNormal
Sources

Where Ballyforan’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 Ballyforan’s population centre (0.3 km away).
  • Weather station: the nearest of Met Éireann’s 25 synoptic stations, Mount Dillon, 34 km north-east, from Met Éireann’s station list.
  • Frosts and degree days: Mount Dillon’s daily readings from Met Éireann (clidata.met.ie), 2004–2020, 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 Ballyforan’s climate

How warm does Ballyforan get in summer?

July is the warmest month, with average highs of 19.6°C.

How cold does Ballyforan get in winter?

The coldest nights come in February, averaging 2.1°C. At Mount Dillon, the nearest Met Éireann station, the air drops below 0°C on about 52 nights a year (2004–2020).

How much rain does Ballyforan get?

About 1,055 mm a year, more than 65% of Irish towns. December is the wettest month (115 mm) and May the driest (66 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 Ballyforan itself. Its nearest synoptic station is Mount Dillon.

Are these figures for Ballyforan itself?

Partly. The temperatures and rain are Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid, read at Ballyforan’s population centre; the frosts, degree days and year-to-year swings are those of Mount Dillon, 34 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 Ballyforan’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 Ballyforan →

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).