The new gates are up, the hedgerow is planted and watered, and the fence is in place. Alex has started reducing the number of bunches and nipping the buds. I'm just wandering around. We have our next session of the pruning workshop at Turlough House on Saturday.
Still no rain and there's no rain, no clouds, no wind in the forecast for at least the next week. Looks like it's time to get the kayak in the water.
According to Met Éireann's climate report, we've had only 0.8 mm of rain in May so far. The temperature, at an average of 12.8°c, has been higher than the long-term average but lower than the prior two years, despite feeling hotter. Shorts, T-shirts and sandals are the deal this week.
We walked the vineyard and the land with Cormac and Louise, our nephew and his partner, yesterday and explained a lot of what's going on. They are very interested in helping with the vineyard work. They've just returned from a sabbatical trip around the world. They'll be away for another 6 weeks in Spain and France and then back to work. It's nice to know they have an interest.
The sloe hedge is planted and the new fence and gates erected. Another fruit to add to the collection.
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Today was a perfect day. Not too hot, not too cold, not too sunny, not too wet, not too windy, not too anything. Just right! Alex spent the day rehanging gates and finishing the planting of the new blackthorn hedge. I hope we have lots of sloes for sloe gin. Another concoction to add to our collection. So far we have white wine, red wine, apple cider, mead, and now sloes. I also made elderflower cordial and apple juice for the nonalcoholic crowd.
The vineyard is coming along great despite the lack of rain. As Alex was digging, six inches down was moist. We are fortunate in that regard. The groundwater table is quite high here.
I spent the day pulling weeds, cutting back the NZ flax, and transporting and watering plants in between doing laundry, which I do every Monday. I also took the time to walk the land with Mini and Ghostie in tow. Mini talked the entire time and Ghostie had the zoomies all the way. I'm so glad those two have forged an unusual May-Sep kitty bond.
It's the 9th of May and we still have 0.0 mm of rain to date with none forecast for days to come. At least today we have some clouds, and Met Éireann said some places in the Northwest may get showers. So far, nada.
The vines look good despite the lack of rain, and the inflorescence is progressing, but the buds have not yet flowered. In contrast, Vanessa in the polytunnel already has grapes forming. It has been in the 40s in the polytunnel and very hard to work in there.
Paeder and Liam, our new donkey boys, pals for Bruce, arrived today. They were abandoned and found with hooves that had curled up dramatically, but likely not abused. They are said to have very gentle demeanour. They are smaller than Ursula, which is great. It will take time for everyone to get used to each other, us included. The family is now complete.
And we have a new Pope. Pope Leo, an Augustinian born in Chicago and lived in Peru for many years of which he is a citizen as well, is the first American Pope. The Conclave lasted only two days. There is hope in the world again. We'll make wine in his honour this year. But it's hard to accept that I am older than the Pope, as traditionally they have been ancient.
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Met Eireann's monthly summary for Newport Furnace, our closest weather station, shows that, despite our prolonged period with lack of rain in April, we ended the month just ahead of the long term average (LTA). Now here we are on the 5th of May with absolutely no rain so far (0.0 mm) and no rain in the forseeable forecast. Are we still in Ireland or have we been transported to some exotic land of sun?
Our mean air temperature was a degree lower than the LTA but our soil temperature was a degree higher, presumably as a result of the sun's warming effect. Solar radiation was way up there and our degree days below 15.5 was way down. So what does this mean for the vines? Are they confused?
It seems everything is blooming profusely all at once. Naturally, allergies are off the charts. What does this change of pattern mean? Will it stay with us or keep changing every year?
Monthly Data - Newport Furnace
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 105.0 | 112.4 | 59.3 | 102.8 | 0.0 | 379.5 | |||||||
| 2024 | 125.7 | 197.5 | 152.5 | 119.4 | 48.8 | 80.7 | 80.8 | 257.5 | 44.1 | 150.7 | 143.3 | 173.7 | 1574.7 |
| 2023 | 183.2 | 91.6 | 188.4 | 121.1 | 48.5 | 77.9 | 206.8 | 139.8 | 142.4 | 144.7 | 209.6 | 293.8 | 1847.8 |
| 2022 | 98.8 | 260.4 | 67.8 | 84.0 | 107.0 | 148.0 | 59.2 | 104.1 | 97.3 | 233.9 | 187.5 | 154.6 | 1602.6 |
| LTA | 166.4 | 146.6 | 129.0 | 98.0 | 99.2 | 93.5 | 111.6 | 133.0 | 131.8 | 153.9 | 180.9 | 190.7 | 1634.6 |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6.0 | 7.1 | 8.9 | 11.6 | 11.3 | 8.5 | |||||||
| 2024 | 6.1 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 9.9 | 13.1 | 12.9 | 14.9 | 14.9 | 13.6 | 11.8 | 9.2 | 8.2 | 10.9 |
| 2023 | 6.6 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 9.9 | 13.3 | 17.4 | 14.9 | 15.8 | 15.2 | 11.9 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 11.4 |
| 2022 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 9.9 | 12.6 | 13.8 | 15.9 | 16.2 | n/a | 12.2 | 9.4 | 5.2 | 10.7 |
| LTA | 6.3 | 6.4 | 7.5 | 9.5 | 12.0 | 14.2 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 13.8 | 11.1 | 8.5 | 6.7 | 10.6 |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 8.1 | 10.9 | n/a | 7.5 | |||||||
| 2024 | 4.2 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 13.6 | 14.4 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 13.7 | 11.2 | 8.9 | 7.2 | 10.6 |
| 2023 | 5.2 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 9.1 | 13.7 | 18.6 | 16.3 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 11.1 | 7.6 | 6.7 | 11.1 |
| 2022 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 9.3 | 13.2 | 14.8 | 16.8 | 16.6 | n/a | 11.5 | 8.4 | 4.4 | 10.4 |
| LTA | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7308 | 11955 | 25430 | 44615 | 8558 | 97866 | |||||||
| 2024 | 7248 | 12401 | 23032 | 39685 | 47333 | 50366 | 49632 | 38203 | 31451 | 16628 | 6586 | 4121 | 326686 |
| 2023 | 6245 | 10639 | 21429 | 37277 | 55732 | 58473 | 41797 | 36857 | 29338 | 16225 | 8326 | 4411 | 326749 |
| 2022 | 6311 | 10756 | 33399 | 40555 | 51569 | 47246 | 48439 | 51169 | n/a | 15988 | 7869 | 6167 | 319468 |
| LTA | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12.9 | 22.0 | 39.5 | 70.1 | 11.5 | 156.0 | |||||||
| 2024 | 15.4 | 18.2 | 36.0 | 56.9 | 74.7 | 76.7 | 80.9 | 60.8 | 49.0 | 27.6 | 14.2 | 15.6 | 526.0 |
| 2023 | 14.3 | 20.9 | 33.0 | 56.4 | 83.3 | 100.6 | 70.1 | 64.4 | 50.1 | 26.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 548.1 |
| 2022 | 13.7 | 23.0 | 47.2 | 60.6 | 77.7 | 76.0 | 80.4 | 82.0 | n/a | 27.2 | 17.2 | 9.2 | 514.2 |
| LTA | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17.1 | 30.5 | 55.3 | 97.0 | 16.4 | 216.3 | |||||||
| 2024 | 20.2 | 25.4 | 51.9 | 83.7 | 104.9 | 109.8 | 112.6 | 88.3 | 67.8 | 37.5 | 18.4 | 20.0 | 740.5 |
| 2023 | 18.8 | 28.2 | 47.6 | 81.6 | 118.2 | 137.1 | 99.5 | 89.1 | 67.8 | 35.5 | 18.4 | 19.0 | 760.8 |
| 2022 | 17.9 | 32.4 | 66.5 | 86.8 | 114.5 | 109.2 | 111.1 | 113.2 | n/a | 37.0 | 22.0 | 11.4 | 722.0 |
| LTA | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 294 | 235 | 205 | 132 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2024 | 293 | 221 | 234 | 169 | 91 | 89 | 45 | 41 | 77 | 117 | 191 | 228 | 1796 |
| 2023 | 275 | 210 | 246 | 171 | 85 | 18 | 39 | 26 | 53 | 118 | 203 | 237 | 1681 |
| 2022 | 256 | 234 | 235 | 171 | 97 | 63 | 30 | 28 | N/A | 103 | 185 | 320 | N/A |
Evaporation and PE data are calculated using Penman/Monteith formulae.
The ‘LTA’ (referred to within a table) is average for the climatological long-term-average (LTA) reference period 1981-2010.
Data updated daily at Mid-day.
To view the Weather Events for Public Works Contracts data, select a station first, then click the link just below the map.
