Climate - Kilkenny (Ireland)

Kilkenny: Temperatures - Precipitation - Sunshine hours - Best time


The climate of Kilkenny is oceanic, with quite cold, rainy winters and mild, relatively rainy summers.
The city is located in the south-east of Ireland, in the province of Leinster.

Winter, from December to February, is quite cold: temperatures are not so low, but wind and humidity can increase the sensation of cold. The sky is often cloudy, and rainfall is frequent. Sometimes, intense Atlantic depressions can cause wind storms.
Snowfalls are quite rare and not abundant. Usually, cold spells are not intense and do not last long. The temperature rarely drops below -5 °C (23 °F), however, it can occasionally drop to lower values. The weather station was closed in 2008: up to that point, the cold record was -14 °C (7 °F), set in January 1979.

In spring, from March to May, the temperature slowly rises, and Atlantic fronts become a bit less frequent. In May, it is often still quite cold, especially in the first half of the month.

Summer, from June to August, is cool, with quite frequent rains, in a context of variable weather.
Hot days are rare: the temperature may not reach 25 °C (77 °F) for an entire month. However, due to the location in the south and some distance from the sea, the temperature in Kilkenny can rise to 30 °C (86 °F) more often than in the rest of Ireland. The highest record is 31.5 °C (88.7 °F) and was set in June 1976 and in July 1983. On June 26, 1887, the highest temperature ever recorded in Ireland, 33.3 °C (91.9 °F), was measured at Kilkenny Castle, although such an ancient value is not very reliable.

Autumn, from September to November, is gray, cloudy and rainy, and with each passing week, it gets progressively colder. In November, the wind is often moderate or strong.

Best Time

The best time to visit Kilkenny is the summer, from June to August, since it is the mildest of the year. The temperatures are generally good for outdoors activities, although it's better to bring an umbrella, and a sweatshirt or sweater for the evening or for cool days.

Kilkenny - Climate data

In Kilkenny, the average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 5.3 °C (41.6 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 15.9 °C (60.6 °F). Here are the average temperatures.
In Kilkenny, precipitation amounts to 885 millimeters (34.8 inches) per year: so, it is at an intermediate level. It ranges from 60 mm (2.4 in) in the driest months (February, June, July) to 95 mm (3.7 in) in the wettest one (October). Here is the average precipitation.
In Kilkenny, there are on average around 1310 sunshine hours per year. Here are the average hours of sunshine per day.