Cork climate

Name: Cork
Address: IE

Cork is warmest in July, with average highs of 19 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average 4.2 °C. December is the wettest month (88 mm) and March the driest (65 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Cork averages 890 mm of rain, 0 days above 25 °C and 8 days below freezing.

Ireland · population 224,004 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month July 19 °C
Coldest month February 4.2 °C
Driest month March 65 mm
Wettest month December 88 mm
Least cloud April 70 % cloud
Hottest on record June 27 °C
Coldest on record March -5.6 °C

What to expectCork through the year

Cork has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 8.9 °C in February to 19 °C in July, a swing of 9.3 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 0 days a year reach 25 °C, 8 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 27 °C, in June.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 65 mm in March to 88 mm in December. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	8.7 °C	82 mm	76 %
February	8.9 °C	67 mm	75 %
March	10.2 °C	65 mm	73 %
April	12.1 °C	72 mm	70 %
May	14.7 °C	69 mm	72 %
June	17.2 °C	66 mm	74 %
July	18.7 °C	70 mm	77 %
August	18.4 °C	72 mm	76 %
September	16.6 °C	66 mm	74 %
October	13.7 °C	88 mm	74 %
November	10.7 °C	85 mm	74 %
December	9.0 °C	88 mm	75 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days below 0 °C
January	8.7 °C	4.5 °C	6.6 °C	14.2 °C	-4.3 °C	2
February	8.9 °C	4.2 °C	6.6 °C	14.0 °C	-3.7 °C	2
March	10.2 °C	4.8 °C	7.5 °C	17.3 °C	-5.6 °C	2
April	12.1 °C	6.1 °C	9.1 °C	20.5 °C	-1.7 °C	0
May	14.7 °C	8.6 °C	11.7 °C	23.7 °C	0.6 °C	0
June	17.2 °C	11.2 °C	14.2 °C	27.4 °C	4.5 °C	0
July	18.7 °C	13.0 °C	15.9 °C	26.7 °C	7.8 °C	0
August	18.4 °C	12.9 °C	15.7 °C	26.7 °C	6.6 °C	0
September	16.6 °C	11.5 °C	14.1 °C	24.8 °C	2.5 °C	0
October	13.7 °C	9.2 °C	11.5 °C	20.3 °C	0.4 °C	0
November	10.7 °C	6.5 °C	8.7 °C	15.8 °C	-2.0 °C	0
December	9.0 °C	5.1 °C	7.1 °C	14.8 °C	-4.8 °C	2

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	82 mm	13	8.3 h/day	76 %	85 %	23 km/h
February	67 mm	11	9.9 h/day	75 %	83 %	23 km/h
March	65 mm	11	12 h/day	73 %	81 %	21 km/h
April	72 mm	12	14 h/day	70 %	79 %	20 km/h
May	69 mm	13	16 h/day	72 %	78 %	19 km/h
June	66 mm	11	17 h/day	74 %	78 %	19 km/h
July	70 mm	12	16 h/day	77 %	80 %	18 km/h
August	72 mm	11	15 h/day	76 %	81 %	18 km/h
September	66 mm	10	13 h/day	74 %	82 %	19 km/h
October	88 mm	12	11 h/day	74 %	84 %	21 km/h
November	85 mm	12	8.8 h/day	74 %	86 %	22 km/h
December	88 mm	13	7.8 h/day	75 %	86 %	23 km/h

How Cork compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Cork	19 °C	4.2 °C	890 mm	0
Dublin · Ireland	18 °C	3.8 °C	860 mm	0
Swansea · United Kingdom	19 °C	3.6 °C	1,232 mm	2
Plymouth · United Kingdom	19 °C	4.4 °C	968 mm	1
Belfast · United Kingdom	18 °C	3.6 °C	913 mm	0

Where Cork ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in Europe in July	22nd of 50	19 °C
The coolest places in Europe in August	28th of 50	18 °C
The coolest places in Europe in June	30th of 50	17 °C
The coolest places in Europe in May	46th of 50	15 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Cork.

QuestionsCommon questions about Cork’s climate

When is the best time to visit Cork?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, July, August sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and March the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Cork get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 19 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 27 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 4.2 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 8 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Cork?

December, averaging 88 mm over 13 days with rain. The driest month is March with 65 mm. The year as a whole averages 890 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Cork rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: 51.898°, -8.471° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.