Yes. You read that correctly. Minus thirty-two degrees.
If you’ve noticed it suddenly getting a lot colder this week, it isn’t just you.
It has properly gotten a lot colder this week, due a polar air-mass over Ireland.
We’ll let Met Eireann describe it better than we can:
“A cold polar maritime air-mass lies over Ireland. The chart shows temperatures below -32C at around 5.5km above the surface. As this very cold air overruns the relatively warm seas, deep convection has formed, bringing some heavy showers this morning and hail and lightning in places.”
While that distance of 5.5km up means that we won’t be feeling that -32C on the ground, it is the reason why it is a lot colder this week, and why the temperatures are dropping so significantly over the mostly cloudless nights this week.
The average temperature that high up is usually around -17.5C, so it is a full 15C colder than usual, which is why we’ll be feeling that cold on the ground this week.
Tonight (Tuesday, November 3) will see temperatures dropping to -1C, and you can expect that below-freezing temperature to return on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night, too. Those in Leinster and Munster should expect to be colder than most, with the following mornings due to bring mist, fog, and frost.
A cold polar maritime air-mass lies over Ireland. The chart shows temperatures below -32C at around 5.5km above the surface. As this very cold air overruns the relatively warm seas, deep convection has formed, bringing some heavy showers this morning & hail & lightning in places pic.twitter.com/VXnXzjZ7bU
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) November 3, 2020
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