August ended with less rainfall than in the previous 3 years, but equal to the mean of 1981-2010. (Why they chose two earlier decades, I do not know.) August also saw the onset of veraison, or the beginning of the grapes turning colour.
Meanwhile, September started with torrential downpours and flooding in Clifden, which is a short distance away in Connemara. We didn't have quite as much, but we still had a lot overnight and all day. Met Eireann had forecast 25-35mm rain for our area. And more to come. The air and soil temperature were almost a full degree higher than prior years. It certainly feels like climate change.
Did I mention that we now have native honey bees? Grapes don't need them as they self-pollinate, but the orchard should benefit enormously. Plus, I won't have to walk around with a paintbrush doing the pollinating myself. The suit can double as protection against coronavirus transmission. Just suit up and everyone will steer clear on the streets.
MONTHLY VALUES FOR NEWPORT UP TO 01-SEP-2020
Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|
| 2020 | 139.5 | 342.8 | 178.2 | 25.5 | 54.7 | 164.5 | 187.9 | 137.9 | 3.5 | | | | 1234.5 |
| 2019 | 146.8 | 115.0 | 228.5 | 100.7 | 112.5 | 76.6 | 82.7 | 228.9 | 175.5 | 160.7 | 148.1 | 220.6 | 1796.6 |
| 2018 | 274.6 | 155.6 | 86.2 | 94.3 | 70.4 | 65.9 | 58.6 | 179.1 | 148.3 | 140.9 | 172.6 | 201.0 | 1647.5 |
| 2017 | 94.3 | 151.0 | 216.2 | 31.1 | 64.2 | 108.3 | 164.0 | 197.6 | 153.3 | 190.1 | 203.0 | 179.7 | 1752.8 |
| mean | 166.7 | 126.5 | 141.2 | 96.8 | 94.7 | 89.7 | 100.9 | 132.5 | 131.5 | 176.0 | 170.4 | 180.2 | 1607.1 |
Mean temperature in degrees Celsius for NEWPORT
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|
| 2020 | 7.2 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 11.0 | 12.8 | 13.8 | 14.4 | 16.0 | 16.6 | | | | 11.0 |
| 2019 | 6.9 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 10.2 | 11.7 | 13.1 | 16.3 | 15.5 | 13.7 | 10.3 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 10.7 |
| 2018 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 9.1 | 13.1 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 15.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 10.5 |
| 2017 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 8.7 | 10.0 | 13.5 | 14.0 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.0 | 11.7 | 8.1 | 6.6 | 10.8 |
| mean | 6.1 | 6.1 | 7.3 | 9.0 | 11.5 | 13.8 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 13.5 | 10.8 | 8.3 | 6.5 | 10.3 |
Mean 10cm soil temperature for NEWPORT at 0900 UTC
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|
| 2020 | 5.7 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 9.7 | 13.0 | 14.8 | 14.9 | 16.3 | n/a | | | | 10.6 |
| 2019 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 8.9 | 12.2 | 13.8 | 16.7 | 15.7 | 13.5 | 9.4 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 10.1 |
| 2018 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 8.2 | 13.1 | 17.4 | 18.4 | 15.1 | 12.1 | 9.6 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 9.9 |
| 2017 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 6.9 | 9.6 | 13.7 | 14.9 | 15.8 | 15.2 | 12.7 | 11.1 | 7.3 | 5.3 | 10.3 |
| mean | 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 |
Global Solar Radiation in Joules/cm2 for NEWPORT
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|
| 2020 | 6263 | 10808 | 24545 | 46192 | 58476 | 43537 | 40215 | 40555 | 1429 | | | | 272020 |
| 2019 | 5378 | 10595 | 21306 | 37648 | 49884 | 49607 | 45395 | 37116 | 26460 | 17406 | 8167 | 4766 | 313728 |
| 2018 | 5976 | 13390 | 25269 | 34709 | 58446 | 59849 | 51448 | 34923 | 22619 | 17123 | 7842 | 4068 | 335662 |
| 2017 | 6968 | 9849 | 26218 | 30764 | 61302 | 41046 | 44472 | 37677 | 26833 | 13741 | 7192 | 4601 | 310663 |
| mean | 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 |
Potential Evapotranspiration (mm) for NEWPORT
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|
| 2020 | 17.6 | 21.9 | 35.0 | 70.2 | 91.6 | 72.9 | 66.2 | 66.4 | 2.2 | | | | 444.0 |
| 2019 | 13.4 | 21.5 | 35.4 | 60.4 | 79.0 | 78.2 | 79.5 | 62.9 | 42.8 | 29.2 | 14.8 | 14.3 | 531.4 |
| 2018 | 16.3 | 21.8 | 35.7 | 52.0 | 88.2 | 102.4 | 87.2 | 58.7 | 37.9 | 30.2 | 18.0 | 11.5 | 559.9 |
| 2017 | 15.6 | 18.1 | 39.5 | 52.4 | 95.8 | 68.2 | 72.1 | 60.6 | 43.7 | 26.1 | 16.5 | 12.6 | 521.2 |
| mean | 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 |
Evaporation (mm) for NEWPORT
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|
| 2020 | 22.4 | 31.9 | 51.8 | 98.9 | 130.8 | 104.8 | 94.3 | 92.7 | 3.2 | | | | 630.8 |
| 2019 | 17.7 | 29.5 | 52.0 | 87.3 | 111.6 | 112.8 | 109.6 | 88.8 | 59.9 | 39.6 | 18.9 | 17.9 | 745.6 |
| 2018 | 21.9 | 30.2 | 51.7 | 76.4 | 127.4 | 140.4 | 120.7 | 82.2 | 53.1 | 40.6 | 22.8 | 14.9 | 782.3 |
| 2017 | 20.7 | 25.9 | 56.2 | 73.6 | 136.2 | 99.6 | 102.4 | 85.7 | 62.2 | 35.9 | 21.0 | 16.1 | 735.5 |
| mean | 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 |
DEGREE DAYS BELOW 15.5 DEGREE CELSIUS FOR NEWPORT
|
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total |
|---|
| 2020 | 257 | 276 | 275 | 143 | 111 | 73 | 55 | 31 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2019 | 266 | 200 | 235 | 165 | 130 | 89 | 27 | 36 | 67 | 164 | 251 | 262 | 1892 |
| 2018 | 298 | 306 | 309 | 194 | 104 | 50 | 31 | 44 | 100 | 147 | 215 | 230 | 2027 |
| 2017 | 260 | 247 | 212 | 166 | 89 | 60 | 49 | 49 | 86 | 118 | 222 | 277 | 1834 |
Notes on the Data
Evaporation and PE data are calculated using Penman/Monteith formulae.
All means are for the period 1981-2010. Data updated daily at Mid-day.
