Few Irish towns have milder winter nights than Fethard
In July the day’s top temperature is typically 19.6°C. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 77% of Irish towns. Decade by decade the climate has edged up, 0.2°C above 1981–2010. Expect about 14 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 Fethard at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Fethard’s climate
Compared with Irish towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in County Wexford beside it.
What a year in Fethard feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages.
About 14 air frosts a year
Air frosts come mostly from November to March, most of all in December (about 4).
Air frosts by month
Average nights below 0°C
Counted from Johnstown Castle’s daily readings, 2008–2020, 26 km north-east of Fethard: Met Éireann publishes these for its stations only. At that distance, read them as the area’s climate.
About 891 mm of rain a year
October is the wettest month and May the driest. 6th wettest of 6 towns of 2,500+ in County Wexford. The wettest month brings about 1.8 times the rain of the driest. Johnstown Castle records 1 mm or more on about 147 days a year, and 10 mm on about 33.
Rain by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in Fethard
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 Fethard’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 Johnstown Castle comes by 21 February and the first by 30 November: about 282 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; Fethard’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →Met Éireann’s nearest station: Johnstown Castle
Johnstown Castle is 26 km north-east of Fethard, the nearest of the 25 synoptic stations where Met Éireann records the weather around the clock. The station stands 62 m above sea level; Fethard’s centre, 13 m.
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Air frosts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.3°C | 3.3°C | 97 mm | 3.6 |
| February | 8.5°C | 3.3°C | 79 mm | 3.0 |
| March | 9.6°C | 3.5°C | 72 mm | 2.3 |
| April | 11.8°C | 5.4°C | 64 mm | 0.2 |
| May | 14.4°C | 7.8°C | 59 mm | 0.0 |
| June | 17.0°C | 10.5°C | 77 mm | 0.0 |
| July | 18.6°C | 12.2°C | 77 mm | 0.0 |
| August | 18.2°C | 11.8°C | 87 mm | 0.0 |
| September | 16.6°C | 10.4°C | 73 mm | 0.0 |
| October | 13.9°C | 8.3°C | 123 mm | 0.0 |
| November | 10.6°C | 5.6°C | 118 mm | 1.1 |
| December | 8.9°C | 3.9°C | 123 mm | 3.7 |
| Year | 13.0°C | 7.2°C | 1,048 mm | 14 |
The table is Johnstown Castle’s own record, averaged over 2008–2020 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 Fethard itself; the frosts and degree days are this station’s.
How Fethard 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 Wexford.
Warmer than it used to be
Fethard’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 891 mm, up 3% from 863 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.
Fethard and its neighbours
Grange Upper has the coldest January nights next door (3.1°C, 0.7°C colder). Ferrybank has the warmest July afternoons (20.2°C, 0.6°C warmer). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fethard | 19.6°C | 3.8°C | 891 mm |
| Dunmore East 12 km | 19.2°C about the same | 3.6°C about the same | 928 mm |
| Grantstown and Ballinakill 17 km | 19.8°C about the same | 3.2°C 0.6°C colder | 1,021 mm |
| Grange 18 km | 19.9°C about the same | 3.3°C 0.5°C colder | 1,015 mm |
| Grange Upper 18 km | 19.9°C about the same | 3.1°C 0.7°C colder | 1,019 mm |
| Ballytruckle 19 km | 20.1°C 0.5°C warmer | 3.4°C about the same | 1,013 mm |
| Ferrybank 19 km | 20.2°C 0.6°C warmer | 3.3°C 0.5°C colder | 1,013 mm |
Each town’s colour is Met Éireann’s 1 km grid at its own centre, so towns a few kilometres apart can differ.
Fethard 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 | 9.2°C | 3.8°C | 6.5°C | 83 mm |
| February | 9.5°C | 3.7°C | 6.6°C | 65 mm |
| March | 10.8°C | 4.5°C | 7.7°C | 60 mm |
| April | 12.7°C | 5.9°C | 9.3°C | 59 mm |
| May | 15.3°C | 8.3°C | 11.8°C | 57 mm |
| June | 18.0°C | 10.8°C | 14.4°C | 66 mm |
| July | 19.6°C | 12.5°C | 16.1°C | 68 mm |
| August | 19.7°C | 12.3°C | 16.0°C | 73 mm |
| September | 17.8°C | 10.9°C | 14.3°C | 69 mm |
| October | 14.6°C | 8.6°C | 11.6°C | 101 mm |
| November | 11.6°C | 5.7°C | 8.6°C | 96 mm |
| December | 9.7°C | 4.3°C | 7.0°C | 94 mm |
| Year | 14.1°C | 7.6°C | 10.8°C | 891 mm |
How much a month can swing
December swings the most: over 13 years its average ranged from 2.1°C (2010) to 9.2°C (2015). May is the most reliable, staying within 1.6°C.
Where Fethard’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 Fethard’s population centre (0.3 km away).
- Weather station: the nearest of Met Éireann’s 25 synoptic stations, Johnstown Castle, 26 km north-east, from Met Éireann’s station list.
- Frosts and degree days: Johnstown Castle’s daily readings from Met Éireann (clidata.met.ie), 2008–2020, 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 Fethard’s climate
How warm does Fethard get in summer?
August is the warmest month, with average highs of 19.7°C.
How cold does Fethard get in winter?
The coldest nights come in February, averaging 3.7°C. At Johnstown Castle, the nearest Met Éireann station, the air drops below 0°C on about 14 nights a year (2008–2020).
How much rain does Fethard get?
About 891 mm a year, less than 56% of Irish towns. October is the wettest month (101 mm) and May the driest (57 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 Fethard itself. Its nearest synoptic station is Johnstown Castle.
Are these figures for Fethard itself?
Partly. The temperatures and rain are Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages on its 1 km grid, read at Fethard’s population centre; the frosts, degree days and year-to-year swings are those of Johnstown Castle, 26 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 Fethard’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 Fethard →
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).