December will finish on a cold and frosty note in Ireland, according to New Zealand weather forecaster Ken Ring.

Minimum temperatures will fall as we approach the end of the month and go below zero some nights.

January

In the first week of the new year temperatures will lift a little, with lowest temperatures of -3°C to 2°C and maximum temperatures of 4°C to 7°C. The remainder of January will continue quote cold and showery.

February

The start of February will see another cold snap, with temperatures reaching as low as -6°C degrees in places on 4 Februray and 5 Februray. That will be the coldest time in February, with temperatures rising then. Daytime maximum temperatures will reach 12°C and 13°C on many days, with a high of 15°C forecast for Wednesday 14 February.

March

Once again there will be low temperature at the start of March, with nights seeing lows of -2°C and even -3°C. But temperatures will lift for the second half of the month, with far less frost and maximum daytime temperatures in the range of 8°C to 13°C. There will be a lot of dry weather at this time.

March looks like a decent month for getting some fertiliser out.

April

April will see a good deal of dry weather, but lower temperatures. There will be some rain in the middle of the month on the 12 April and 13 April. After that temperatures will fall, with nighttime lows as cold as -5°C on 15 April and 16 April. But rainfall will remain relatively light.

May

Temperatures will gradually rise in May, with fewer frosty nights. Nighttime temperatures generally won’t go below 2-3°C. There will be a lot of dry weather in May. A warm spell at the end of the month will bring temperatures as high as 22°C. It looks like there could be a chance for good May silage, just like at Dublin airport in May 2017.

Silage cutting at Dublin airport in 2017.

June

Ken Ring is predicting colder weather for June, with a fall of snow on 7 June and 8 June and frosty nights. The last snow showers will clear the country on 11 June. It will be followed by milder, but showery weather.

Snow joke. Ken Ring is predicting snow falls in June 2018.

July

The weather will become good at the end of June and there will be a lot of dry weather across the country in the first 10 days of July. Temperatures will rise as high as 26°C on the 9 July and 10 July – ideal haymaking weather. But after that the country will return to wet and then showery weather for most of the remainder of July.

August

The next fine spell will come at the end of the month, from 26 July. This dry sunny spell will run to 2 August. Then weather will be mixed and variable for much of August. Daytime temperatures will be quite high.

September

September will bring better weather, with many dry days. Where rain falls it will usually be as light showers. Only from 20 September onwards will there be some heavier rain, but that broken weather will continue to the end of the month and into the early days of October. Let’s hope there’s not another washout like in Ploughing 2017.

October

The weather will pick up from 13 October, but there will be a fall of snow from 19 October until 22 October. However, nighttime temperatures will not go below 0°C. The end of the month will see continuing broken weather.

November

November looks set to be a cold month, with nighttime temperatures regularly going below zero and daytime maximum temperature often at 10°C to 11°C. Nights will see frosts in the second half of the month.

December

December will be a broken month, with showers turning to snowfalls and low temperatures in the middle of the month. There will be heavy rainfall on 18 December and 19 December followed by snowfalls.

Ken Ring is a long-range weather forecaster from Auckland, New Zealand. A disclaimer in the almanac states that the forecasts represent “the best-endeavour opinions of the author and no guarantees of 100% accuracy is claimed”.

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