Mild and windy

Today started out mild and progressed to very windy. It's gusting over 60 knots right now out of the SW. It's about to get much colder as the winds shift to the north. The weather rollercoaster continues. It's going to be windy for the next few days, with the worst conditions on Saturday. 

The November climate figures confirm we had much less rain than normal, 143 mm compared with 170 LTA and closer to 200 for the past few years. The temperature was consistent with the last three years. We had much less solar radiation than we've had in the past, which of course detracted from our solar power generation. 

Now to get through the short days of December. We prune in January!

Monthly values for NEWPORT up to 03-dec-2024

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2024	125.7	197.5	152.5	119.4	48.8	80.7	80.8	257.5	44.1	150.7	143.3	11.4	1412.4
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
2021	225.6	147.6	141.1	45.6	113.5	64.1	59.7	155.6	137.0	265.7	183.3	186.6	1725.4
LTA	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
2024	6.1	7.9	7.9	9.9	13.1	12.9	14.9	14.9	13.6	11.8	9.2	7.4	11.1
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
2021	5.0	6.7	7.9	9.0	10.4	13.3	17.5	16.4	15.2	11.9	9.3	7.6	10.9
LTA	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
2024	4.2	6.5	6.5	9.5	13.6	14.4	15.8	15.4	13.7	11.2	8.9	n/a	10.9
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
2021	3.6	5.0	6.8	8.2	10.9	14.3	17.9	16.3	15.2	11.3	8.6	6.6	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

Global Solar Radiation in Joules/cm² for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2024	7248	12401	23032	39685	47333	50366	49632	38203	31451	16628	6586	580	323145
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
2021	6620	13347	20370	45694	55690	45488	49455	40490	22413	16358	7235	3780	326940
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

Potential Evapotranspiration (mm) for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2024	15.4	18.2	36.0	56.9	74.7	76.7	80.9	60.8	49.0	27.6	14.2	1.2	511.6
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
2021	7.6	22.9	30.7	62.9	76.3	70.7	87.8	67.5	38.3	25.1	14.1	14.6	518.5
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

Evaporation (mm) for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2024	20.2	25.4	51.9	83.7	104.9	109.8	112.6	88.3	67.8	37.5	18.4	1.5	722.0
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
2021	10.9	32.1	45.4	89.9	111.2	102.0	117.2	93.5	52.1	34.7	18.6	19.1	726.7
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

Degree Days Below 15.5 Degree Celsius for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2024	293	221	234	169	91	89	45	41	77	117	191	N/A	N/A
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
2021	325	247	236	200	167	79	20	23	40	114	187	245	1883

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Notes on the Data

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.

Shelter for the donkeys

We've been trying to erect a shelter for the donkeys for more than a month. The digger finally came on Saturday to dig the holes for the corner posts. Dmytro has been helping Alex, and we've temporarily housed the donkeys in the little hay shed, but they'll like the bigger space better. We've been letting them out into the field next to the vineyard during the day, but they really like coming in for the night. 

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Atmospheric River floods Pacific Northwest

 

Vineyards and communities were underwater from Washington State to Northern California again last week leading up to Thanksgiving due to another atmospheric river, the first of the season. Literally, a river of moisture in the atmosphere, accompanied by a bomb cyclone has inundated vineyards and left more than 100,000 homes without power. They say the vines are resilient enough to recover, but not if it keeps happening. They are calling it a once in a thousand years event. CBS News ran a major report. 

The term “atmospheric river” first appeared in modern scientific literature in the early 1990s. Prior to that, the phenomenon was called a "warm conveyor belt". According to climate scientists, the frequency and intensity of atmospheric rivers are increasing in California, causing an increase in severe rainfall events. 

The silver lining in these clouds is that all the rainfall has finally eased the drought, restoring water levels in the reservoirs throughout the region. 

Meanwhile, the East Coast is bracing for potentially record-breaking snowfall from the Mid-Atlantic region through New England over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. 

Fog and frost

After Storm Bert, our temperature plummeted again. This morning a thick fog rolled in just at sunrise. I watched it climb from the sea across Croach Patrick and then across the fields, freezing on the grass and limbs. We never used to get fog, and when we did it didn't last. It's different now. We're getting fog more often and it tends to hang around a while. 

When I drove into town this morning, the fog was so thick that I could not see to the next bend on our little road. Several cars and a tractor appeared out of nowhere. I managed to pull over into dodgy laybys, but I survived. Alex drove to Kilrush, and he said it was the same all the way down. It cleared for the middle of the day but reappeared as sunset. 

The donkeys were disoriented this morning and were looking for ways to escape. They didn't want to leave their shed but I managed to lure them into the field for a few hours. They were very eager to get back into the shelter. It's warmer in there and there's food. 

The vineyard is dormant now. Nothing to do at the moment, although the grass had grown and could probably use a cutting. More straw for the donkeys. 

Wind, a lot of wind!

It has been blowing all day. Everything is covered in salt. I hope the heavy rain that followed in the evening washed much of it off. The shed doors were bowing in, so Alex braced them with timber. I'll check on the vineyard and donkeys in the morning, but we have one more day of this before it turns frigid again. Subzero temperatures are forecast for tomorrow night. 

Rain, a lot of rain

 

Overnight, Storm Bert dropped a large volume of rain on Ireland. North of us (Donegal) and south of us (Connemara) saw massive flooding. 60,000 dwellings were without power overnight. Somehow, we in the middle were spared the worst. But we did get 37.5mm (1.5in) of rain. The strongest wind recorded was 48 km/hr. It was forecast to be worse. The grounds of Newport NS are flooded as the storm drains are inadequate in the town. At least it is mild. We went from 0C to 14C in one day. 

I'm very glad we managed to get the donkeys to shelter before Bertie arrived. They were nervous at first but seem content now. 

Met Éireann had issued two separate red weather alerts for Cork and Galway, warning of "severe flooding" and potential damage. The warnings were in place until 10 a.m. this morning and have since expired. But travel remains hazardous as trees are down and roads are flooded. A massive landslide on the road to Maam has closed the Leenane Road. Winds were gusting close to 110km/h overnight in Cork. 

The forecaster has since issued four status yellow wind warnings for Cork, Kerry, and nine other counties as Storm Bert continues to ravage the country. The warnings affect Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal.

Nevertheless, our total rainfall for November remains very low at 69.4mm compared with 170.4 LTA. Our temperature remains high despite all those days of 0C last week. 

The stormy weather will continue through Monday. The digger that was supposed to prepare the site for the donkey shed has been delayed several times by the weather.