Hardly any Irish towns see fresher July days than Carney
January nights here settle around 3.2°C. By rainfall alone, it ranks wetter than 94% of Irish towns. Since 1981–2010, the year has warmed by 0.2°C, most of all in February. From June to August, highs of 17–18°C make it easy to spend the day outdoors.
Met Éireann 1991–2020 averages for the town’s own square kilometre.
A year in Carney at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Carney’s climate
Compared with Irish towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in County Sligo beside it.
What a year in Carney feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages.
52 frosts and 2 days of 25°C a year
Ground frosts, when the grass drops below 0°C, come on about 105 nights a year. Air frosts come mostly from October to May, most of all in February (about 9).
Air frosts by month
Average nights below 0°C
Ground frosts by month
Average nights with the grass below 0°C
Counted from Markree’s daily readings, 2005–2020, 19 km south of Carney: Met Éireann publishes these for its stations only.
About 1,307 mm of rain a year
November is the wettest month and April the driest. The wettest month brings about 1.8 times the rain of the driest. Markree records 1 mm or more on about 200 days a year, and 10 mm on about 35.
Rain by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in Carney
82% 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 Carney’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 Markree comes by 10 May and the first by 15 October: about 158 frost-free days in between.
Highs of 17–27°C with lows of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Averages smooth over storms, floods and heatwaves; Carney’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →Met Éireann’s nearest station: Markree
Markree is 19 km south of Carney, the nearest of the 25 synoptic stations where Met Éireann records the weather around the clock. The station stands 34 m above sea level; Carney’s centre, 14 m.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Air frosts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.9°C | 1.9°C | 129 mm | 9.1 |
| February | 8.5°C | 1.7°C | 99 mm | 9.3 |
| March | 10.0°C | 1.9°C | 89 mm | 9.2 |
| April | 12.8°C | 3.6°C | 62 mm | 5.1 |
| May | 15.3°C | 6.3°C | 82 mm | 1.5 |
| June | 17.5°C | 8.9°C | 80 mm | 0.0 |
| July | 18.5°C | 10.6°C | 99 mm | 0.0 |
| August | 17.9°C | 10.5°C | 117 mm | 0.0 |
| September | 16.5°C | 8.5°C | 92 mm | 0.4 |
| October | 13.8°C | 6.1°C | 108 mm | 2.4 |
| November | 10.1°C | 3.4°C | 137 mm | 6.1 |
| December | 8.2°C | 2.1°C | 139 mm | 8.8 |
| Year | 13.1°C | 5.5°C | 1,232 mm | 52 |
The table is Markree’s own record, averaged over 2005–2020 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 Carney itself; the frosts and degree days are this station’s.
How Carney 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 Sligo.
Warmer than it used to be
Carney’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 1,307 mm, up 3% from 1,274 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.
Carney and its neighbours
Collooney has the coldest January nights next door (2.2°C, 1.0°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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carney | 18.4°C | 3.2°C | 1,307 mm |
| Sligo 8.4 km | 18.7°C about the same | 2.8°C about the same | 1,231 mm |
| Strandhill 8.9 km | 18.6°C about the same | 3.0°C about the same | 1,130 mm |
| Ballysadare 14 km | 18.7°C about the same | 2.5°C 0.7°C colder | 1,256 mm |
| Collooney 18 km | 18.6°C about the same | 2.2°C 1.0°C colder | 1,295 mm |
| Coolaney 19 km | 18.4°C about the same | 2.2°C 1.0°C colder | 1,466 mm |
Each town’s colour is Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at its own centre, so towns a few kilometres apart can differ.
Carney 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 | 8.4°C | 3.2°C | 5.8°C | 126 mm |
| February | 8.9°C | 3.1°C | 6.0°C | 102 mm |
| March | 10.3°C | 3.9°C | 7.1°C | 94 mm |
| April | 12.6°C | 5.4°C | 9.0°C | 79 mm |
| May | 15.2°C | 7.6°C | 11.4°C | 83 mm |
| June | 17.2°C | 10.1°C | 13.6°C | 89 mm |
| July | 18.4°C | 11.9°C | 15.1°C | 111 mm |
| August | 18.4°C | 11.9°C | 15.1°C | 115 mm |
| September | 16.8°C | 10.3°C | 13.5°C | 106 mm |
| October | 13.7°C | 7.8°C | 10.7°C | 123 mm |
| November | 10.7°C | 5.3°C | 8.0°C | 141 mm |
| December | 8.7°C | 3.5°C | 6.1°C | 139 mm |
| Year | 13.3°C | 7.0°C | 10.1°C | 1,307 mm |
How much a month can swing
December swings the most: over 16 years its average ranged from −1.2°C (2010) to 7.2°C (2018). August is the most reliable, staying within 2.8°C.
Where Carney’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 Carney’s population centre (0.5 km away).
- Weather station: the nearest of Met Éireann’s 25 synoptic stations, Markree, 19 km south, from Met Éireann’s station list.
- Frosts and degree days: Markree’s daily readings from Met Éireann (clidata.met.ie), 2005–2020, 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 Carney’s climate
How warm does Carney get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 18.4°C.
How cold does Carney get in winter?
The coldest nights come in February, averaging 3.1°C. At Markree, the nearest Met Éireann station, the air drops below 0°C on about 52 nights a year (2005–2020).
How much rain does Carney get?
About 1,307 mm a year, more than 94% of Irish towns. November is the wettest month (141 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 Carney itself. Its nearest synoptic station is Markree.
Are these figures for Carney itself?
Partly. The temperatures and rain are Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid, read at Carney’s population centre; the frosts, degree days and year-to-year swings are those of Markree, 19 km south, 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 Carney’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 Carney →
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).