May Weather

The weather was warm and sunny, for the most part, but more unsettled than April and generally drier that usual, especially at the beginning of the month, continuing the dry conditions that have been affecting the growing conditions since the middle of March.

A total of 53mm of rain fell (recorded at the closest weather station in Birr), which is slightly less than normal. The mean temperature for the month was only slightly above normal at 11 degrees C. The mean soil temperature was almost 2 degree higher than normal at 14.5C and the total amount of solar radiation for the month (intensity of energy from the sun including overcast days) was slightly higher than normal (53560 Joules/sqcm). The wind levels for the month were normal and there were a few episodes of hail. All of these conditions affect the growth rate of the plants, and the limiting factor was still the lack of water in the soil.

In the temperature charts above (extracted from the Met Éireann summary) the maximum temperature ranged in the mid teens for most of the month, but the low temperature dropped significantly at the end of the month, creating frost conditions on the night of May 29! This was a very late frost, and hit many of the potatoes hard. Fortunately we had not yet planted any other tender plants.

The top graphs shows the general lack of any heavy rainfalls for the whole month, with much of the rain evaporating from the surface before it could seep in and replenish the moisture in the soil. The bottom graph shows a couple of spells of strong sunshine!