Average Weather and Climate

Source:http://www.ecology.com/2012/03/17/ireland-emerald-isle-nasa/

Month	Min(°F)	Max(°F)
Jan	36.5	45.7
Feb	36.5	45.5
Mar	37.6	49.1
Apr	39.9	52.5
May	44.2	57.6
Jun	49.3	63.0
Jul	52.5	66.0
Aug	52.0	65.5
Sep	49.3	61.9
Oct	45.7	56.7
Nov	39.6	49.6
Dec	37.8	47.1

The city of Dublin rests on the eastern side of the island of Ireland.  Ireland resides in the Northern Atlantic Ocean northwest of the European Continent and just west of England.  Due to the North Atlantic Ocean current, Dublin enjoys a very mild climate with monthly highs only changing from around the 40s in the winter to the mid 60s in the summer.  The amount of monthly precipitation also doesn’t vary much with an average of 2-3 inches per month with slightly higher values coming in the later months of the year.  The western side of Ireland is exposed to westerly winds causing more change in the average temperatures and rainfall while Dublin’s position on the east side of the island make it less exposed to the same extremes shared by the rest of the island. 

Graph showing monthly temperature together
with average monthly rainfall
Source:http://www.world-climates.com/city-climate-dublin-ireland-europe/

Graph showing monthly highs and lows for Dublin, Ireland
Source:http://en.allmetsat.com/climate/europe.php?code=03969

 

The geography of Ireland is mostly rolling plains covered in green grass year round due the consistently high humidity from warm, moist air coming from the tropics via the North Atlantic Ocean current.  There are few mountainous regions on the island with steep coastal cliff on the western coast of Ireland leading to high winds and higher extremes in temperatures and precipitation.

Koppen Climate Map showing the climate of Ireland to be Cfb, meaning it is temperate,
without a dry season, and has warm summers
Source:http://people.eng.unimelb.edu.au/mpeel/koppen.html

The North Atlantic Ocean current is the main influencer in the climate of Ireland.  The warm waters that travel across the Atlantic to islands of the United Kingdom give the islands a temperate maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters.  This is why this area, being at the same latitudes as the northern United States or Russia, experiences fairly warm winters with little snow while the northern United States and Russia experience very cold and snowy winters.  The climate of Dublin is very similar to that of southern parts of continents in the southern hemisphere, which we associate more with hotter temperatures and less moisture.

Picture of the North Atlantic Ocean Current bringing warm water from the Caribbean up the east coast of the US, across the Atlantic to Greenland and northern Europe
Source:http://www.pik-potsdam.de/~stefan/thc_fact_sheet.html

 

Bowen ratios are used to determine how net radiational heating is partitioned between the sensible and latent heat fluxes.  The sensible heat flux means the amount of heat conducted from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere.  This mean the more landmass in an area, the higher the sensible heat.  Latent heat refers to the amount of heat conducted through water meaning coastal areas will have higher latent heat than sensible.  In terms of the Bowen ratio, moist areas will have lower ratios and dry areas will have high ratios because moist regions, usually being coastal, have more moisture available giving higher latent heat levels while areas in the interior of continents are much dryer because land is much greater than water.  In terms of the Bowen ratio for Dublin, I would estimate the ratio to be low, around 0.20-0.30 because Ireland is a coastal landmass, giving it a low sensible heat level, with a lot of available moisture, giving it a high latent heat flux, making the Bowen ratio relatively low.