Climate
Like the rest of Northern Ireland, Bangor has a mild climate with few extremes of weather. It enjoys one of the sunniest climates in Northern Ireland, and receives about 900 millimetres (35 in) of rain per year, which is moderate by Ireland's standards. It enjoys a mild microclimate, with very little snow. Snow is rare but occurs at least once or twice in an average winter and frost is not as severe as areas further inland. This is due to the mild winters and close proximity to the sea. Winter maximums are about 8C but can reach as high as 15C. Average maximums in summer are around 20C, although the record high is 30C. The lowest recorded temperature is -8C. Temperatures above 25C in Bangor are usually uncomfortable due to the high humidity, and real feels would be in the high 20s. The climate puts Bangor in USDA plant hardiness zone 9a.
| Climate data for Bangor, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15 (59) |
15 (59) |
20 (68) |
23 (73) |
27 (81) |
28 (82) |
30 (86) |
29 (84) |
26 (79) |
21 (70) |
17 (63) |
16 (61) |
30 (86) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8 (46) |
8 (46) |
9 (48) |
12 (54) |
15 (59) |
18 (64) |
20 (68) |
20 (68) |
17 (63) |
14 (57) |
11 (52) |
9 (48) |
13 (55) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 3 (37) |
3 (37) |
4 (39) |
5 (41) |
7 (45) |
9 (48) |
10 (50) |
10 (50) |
8 (46) |
6 (43) |
4 (39) |
3 (37) |
6 (43) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −7 (19) |
−8 (18) |
−6 (21) |
−4 (25) |
−1 (30) |
2 (36) |
5 (41) |
5 (41) |
0 (32) |
−5 (23) |
−7 (19) |
−8 (18) |
−8 (18) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 99 (3.9) |
68 (2.68) |
79 (3.11) |
55 (2.17) |
59 (2.32) |
60 (2.36) |
56 (2.2) |
79 (3.11) |
80 (3.15) |
94 (3.7) |
88 (3.46) |
96 (3.78) |
913 (35.94) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 46 | 54 | 96 | 133 | 168 | 210 | 190 | 155 | 114 | 92 | 55 | 43 | 1,356 |
| Source: Met Office | |||||||||||||
Bangor has had a number of extreme weather events in recent years, including a hot summer in 2006, followed by 3 of the wettest summers on record in 2007, 2008 and 2009, with flooding in June 2007. Heavy snow also fell on the town on 4 January 2008. The Autumn of 2006 was also the warmest recorded. Heavy snow fell in the town on 19 December 2009 & again more heavy snow fell in January 2010. This was followed by 4 weeks of feezing conditions, with temperatures as low as -8.4C. Inland areas of Northern Ireland saw -14C. The freeze finally ended on 14 January 2010. This was during Winter of 2009–10 in Europe. July 2010 was the dullest on record, with 200% of normal rainfall. December 2010 saw record snowfall fall on the town, with temperatures below -7C. On 21 December 2010 an unofficial weather station manned by a retired meteorological officer in the Springhill area recorded a low of minus 8.1C, and a high of minus 2.0C. Snow lay to a level depth of 24 cm, the same morning. Inland Northern Ireland saw almost -19C, new record lows. In contrast, the winter of 2011-12 was snowless, with only 1 morning recording sub-zero temperatures. Spring 2012 continued on the mild note. 20*C was reached on March 27.
Read more about this topic: Bangor, County Down
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