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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Give me Irish weather any time over heatwave America - Cool and wet beats hot and humid anytime in my books

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Give me Irish weather any time over heatwave America - Cool and wet beats hot and humid anytime in my books

Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2012 at 08:21 AM

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By some measures it is the wettest summer in Ireland since 1909 and real records began.

I wish I was there.

I spoke to my brother in Drogheda, County Louth, thirty miles north of Dublin on Friday night.

“Three months worth of rain fell in a week “ he told me in that Irish way that mixes resignation with a perverse pride in being able to endure it.

Of course I just got back from there and know somewhat of what he is talking about.

But I’d still prefer it there to the weather here at the moment.

There is something about my Irish skin that overheats like an expanding boiler when the temperatures move north of about 80 degrees.

Here in the Northeast we have had as high as 97 and 98 degrees in this past week.

Personally it is insufferable. Give me wet and rainy Ireland anytime, and a grey dawn breaking no matter how depressing it seems.

Sun burns me up, mosquitoes tee off to attack that nice white Irish skin they treat like a caviar feast. I feel irritable and miserable and like a snapping turtle when people annoy me.

Give me Ireland. The days I was there it was not constant rain, the really depressing kind. It was rain sunshine, rain, sunshine. It stayed bright until 11 o’clock dear reader.

I felt right at home.

The Irish Times forecast for four days in advance was hilarious. Everyday was Groundhog Day. It was early morning fog followed by rain, followed by patches of sun followed by rain again. If this was a movie Ireland was on its tenth sequel by this point in its summer.

Actually, the best place I ever lived was San Francisco where I parked myself in the fog-shrouded Sunset district for about six years. The cool all enveloping fog, keeping temperatures in the mid fifties to sixty was invigorating,

If I wanted sun -- which I didn’t -- I only had to drive a few miles.
In winter if I wanted snow I only had to drive to Tahoe on the Nevada border. Of course, I ended up unhappy there --- too perfect for an Irish Catholic boy.

So I took myself off to New York, land of white hot summers and deep freeze winters.

Every year I ask the same question --- what did people do before air conditioning especially on humid high summer days like now?

I don’t know but they were better men and women than me to survive it.

Which is why I want the grey mist and the sky and the wind’s whip, and an invigorating walk on a beach, not this soulless, humid, huff and puff, helter swelter summer we have here.

Irish weather? -- perfect for me.

Bring it on.

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boydshield | Jul 08, 2012, 12:54 AM EDT

The weather in Ireland is super-would trade it for where I live in the US anytime!

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irishpjk | Jul 07, 2012, 11:23 PM EDT

I think all the flood victims in Cork and the Southwest would dissagree with you. Or did you know about all the flooding over here.

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lyoness555 | Jul 07, 2012, 10:24 PM EDT

This must be an Irish thing cause Im Irish and when the sun comes out I feel disorented and depressed . I hate the sun as does all of my family we love the rain fog snow cold anything But the sun. I live in NY so its ok in summer I close the black drapes and hide till fall when all is brisk and lovely again!

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ellenred | Jul 07, 2012, 09:14 PM EDT

Oh, Niall, I hear you. Just got back to Florida after almost 10 days in south west Ireland, and the summer is killing me. I long to have a fleecy on, or a wool sweater wity winds hitting me. My Irish American red-head's skin also does not like temps about 85 F . Without the cool afternoon sea breeze, I woud never leave the house in the summer. Of course we have AC, but I want fresh air. Ellen

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Therearedays | Jul 07, 2012, 09:12 PM EDT

I worked and lived in the States for two Summers, one full blown Winter and one and a half 'Falls'. It can never compare. A windless Winter sunny day in Massachusetts, when the ice crystals gleam in all their glory! would nearly make you forget the bitter biting Arctic-like wind and blizzard that preceded it. Same as a Winter sunny day would make you forget the gales and rain here in Ireland, we've had some comparable ones recently. I have a clear recollection of going down to my uncles basement, removing the shelves in the fridge, positioning the fan, trying to get as far in as possible and dreaming of a fine mist of rain before my brain melted. Summers don't compare. You get more Sun but huge fluctuations in temperature(in the Northeast) but some cracking days between. I never really give out about the weather consequently. Hail, sun, wind, rain or snow it's all an experience to be enjoyed.

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weebobbi | Jul 07, 2012, 07:21 PM EDT

I was born in Glasgow, Scotland I and the summers nice, warm and pleasant. Ken. Uch. Noo, the winters...Oh, I remember the winters, Coold, at times freezing. Going to sleep at night. Na fire. we where poor. I remember those day I now live in Florida. The last 30 years. Yes it's HOT in the summer, but we have air-con. All the shop's have air-con,ing.It only last for 4 month's "What heat" But then comes the winter. Christmas day. ABOUT. NORMAL. It's 78%, or 28C. for six months. I have the best of two word's. Hot and warm.

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michaelidaho | Jul 07, 2012, 07:06 PM EDT

East of Rockies = Humidity = Yuck. Northeast is the worst ... hot, humid, summers with freezing cold winters. Irish weather gets the edge ...never too hot, rarely ever too cold, but a bit too much rain and cloudiness. However, the West is the best. Sunny, dry, warm weather. Really can not beat coastal California; southern Idaho is a close second.

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aloistmartin | Jul 07, 2012, 06:19 PM EDT

Climate here in Pasadena, have been uncommonly mild this Season; But Trends in Climate Change, and Unpleasant* tendency of Season to linger well into Winter, is cause for little excitement. * Unless you are Blind, and live long the Coast. Pasadena is 3/4 Arbor and Garden. Spicy Iced Tea, Kettle Chips, and Club Sandwiches !

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jacersagain | Jul 07, 2012, 05:13 PM EDT

heh heh seamusdenais – you should really call yourself ‘shamusdenies’. A good Irish summer is frequent. In fact, by weather statistics, the month of June is notoriously showery (tho' not as bad as we've had this June), no thanks to what’s happening weather-wise in the USA – weather which eventually makes its way to our beautiful land of Ireland. What happens weather-wise in the USA will make its mark on Ireland some week or two later. Mid-July can be sunny, late July rainy but dithering on letting the sun shine through; fickle weather indeed. In 1995, we had the driest 3-months of summer on record. In fact, it was so dry, that it caused a lot of structural damage to many homes when the autumn rain fell – there are so many family houses in Ireland with tell-tale cracks around the window and door openings that prove that, what with the ground shifts and swelling from dry to wet again. I think we are in for some glorious late July & early August sunny weather, with lots of breeze thrown in. I always advise my American friends to visit in late May or early Sept when, for some odd reason, the sun always shines on balmy days. Late May this year proved that; I wait our coming early September’s Indian summer with expectant delight. I wonder what that Donegal postman, famous for predicting the weather, thinks. Anyone checked with him lately??? In the middle of all this, spare a trhought for Irish farmers who provide food for us... it's been such a wet few weeks that they can't bring in the food crop and it's dying a drowning death. Let's hope we don't starve this coming winter.

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Mousemess | Jul 07, 2012, 04:56 PM EDT

Eire. Tir iontach, glas smaragaide, alainn. Eire. Wonder country, emerald green, beautiful.

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seamusdenais | Jul 07, 2012, 04:26 PM EDT

A typical Irish real summer with good decent sun lasts a max of 2 weeks.

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Mousemess | Jul 07, 2012, 03:44 PM EDT

Whenever it rains hard here during the normally horribly hot and intensely humid DC summers, I don't complain. Cooling off feels good and we very badly need the rain to raise our reservoirs and ground water and for our local crops and farm animals in the MidAtlantic region. It's quite normal to have lengthy hot spells and high humidity and either no or too little rain in July in the DC area along with over 100F degree temps. On some days like a hot steam bath not helped by burning hot black asphalt roads. Today in the DC area it's 104-106 F. Worse than NY State at 98F.

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oaklongan | Jul 07, 2012, 03:29 PM EDT

dinodbl, judiron...U.S. mercifuly has better areas to live in...The Pacific Northwest...Magnificent and Magical HUGE forests. Mount Shasta, Big Sur, No. Calif. Even Spectacular Red-Rock Sedona, AZ is cooler

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oaklongan | Jul 07, 2012, 03:20 PM EDT

Had so add...Maureen, my friend, Irish through-and-through (orig. from Boston) and husband, sons have lived in Phoenix, AZ since the late 70's. Just talked with her Thursday...more people, roads, buildings, exponentially since the 90's. I can remember that by mid 80's ASU-Tempe, AZ was doing heat-island studies for all areas over Phoenix, alone! 'Cadillac desert' can't give out, residents can only hope? So. Calif. was/is the same...water had to be canal'ed in since the 1930's.

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oaklongan | Jul 07, 2012, 03:05 PM EDT

Growing up, right-off Lake Michigan (in Michigan, NOT Chicago) it rains like in Ireland, however it gets humid (80-degrees Fahr to 80-degree humidity!) Maricopa County, Arizona (Phoenix, Scottsdale, etc.--NOT Tucson) can and has been 122-degrees Fahr. for 3-4 days some summers (and they aren't getting the beautiful, cooling Moonsoons like the 1980's). Skyharbor Airport Phoenix, AZ outgoing-incoming flights were grounded I can remember, about 20 years ago.

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