Ireland’s official weather service dismisses claims of a long, hot summer

Met Eireann rains on Ken Ring’s sunshine parade

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Is next summer in Ireland awash?

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Ireland’s weather service has poured cold water on the hopes of a summer scorcher this year.

Met Eireann experts have dismissed claims by New Zealand forecaster Ken Ring that temperatures will soar in 2013.

Officials from the government body have even branded Ring’s predictions as ‘ridiculous’ according to a report in the Irish Times.

Ring claims he can make accurate long-term forecasts by gauging moon, sun and tidal activity.

He also says he was the first man to predict Ireland’s arctic winters in 2010 and 2011.

On Tuesday he forecast that Ireland is in line for the hottest summer since 1995.

Ring said a wet spring will be followed by drought like conditions in June, July and August.

The Kiwi is predicting temperatures will top a tropical 30 degrees over the summer followed by a sun-drenched September.

Ring said: “The summer ahead may remind people of the summer of 1995, with long dry spells, especially the first half of July.

“The last 10 days of April will be fine, while the sun will shine for a week in the middle of May.”

Met Eireann forecasters aren’t buying into this particular ring of confidence!

Weather expert Harm Luijks replied: “It is ridiculous. Science does not allow us to forecast more than two weeks in advance. That has not changed and it is not going to change.

“Long-term predictions rarely stand up to scrutiny. When people like Mr Ring get it wrong you never hear from them but when they get it right they shout it from the rooftops.”

Luijks told the Irish Times that such predictions would keep coming and if they said anything out of the ordinary, they would always get some attention.

He added: “Everyone wants to have a nice summer and it could certainly happen, but such predictions are still ridiculous.”

Luijks declined to predict what the Irish summer would be like.

He said: “Conditions will be quite mild for the rest of the week with no sign of any cold weather on the horizon.”

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