Galway climate — normals and trends
Galway (Ireland) has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 9.9 °C and it receives 1,011 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (15.2 °C on average) and the coldest is January (5.3 °C). Rainfall peaks in December.
Galway averages 24 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 167 rainy days per year.
Galway has warmed by +0.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.04 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 30 to 18 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 30.5 °C (on 28 June 2018) and the coldest -11.3 °C (on 24 December 2010).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
GalwayConnacht
- coords
- 53.27°, -9.05°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
9.9°C
Average daily high
12.9°C
Average daily low
7.0°C
Annual rainfall
1,011mm
Sunshine / day
6.8h
Mean relative humidity
83%
Average peak wind
21.6km/h
Seasonal range
9.9°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
24 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
167 d/yr
Annual snowfall
7.9 cm
Average feels-like high
10.2 °C
Average feels-like low
4.1 °C
Average peak gust
43.9 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
9.2 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+0.4 °C
since 1940
0.0 °C per decade · r² = 0.05 · p = 0.038
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
30.5 °C
28 June 2018
Coldest day
-11.3 °C
24 December 2010
Wettest day
48 mm
25 August 1986
Windiest day
74.7 km/h
24 January 2025
Strongest gust
153.0 km/h
24 January 2025
Hottest feels-like
33.8 °C
13 July 1983
Coldest feels-like
-15.6 °C
24 December 2010
Snowiest day
15.5 cm
10 December 2017
Sunniest day
16.7 h
22 June 2018
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.6 °C | -0.1 °C | 70 mm | -23 mm |
| Feb | 9.2 °C | +1.0 °C | 127 mm | +50 mm |
| Mar | 11.9 °C | +1.9 °C | 40 mm | -37 mm |
| Apr | 15.5 °C | +3.2 °C | 77 mm | +8 mm |
| May | 18.3 °C | +3.4 °C | 71 mm | -11 mm |
| Jun | 17.9 °C | +0.7 °C | 85 mm | +12 mm |
| Jul | 19.5 °C | +1.1 °C | 92 mm | +16 mm |
| Aug | 19.6 °C | +1.4 °C | 82 mm | -8 mm |
| Sep | 15.7 °C | -0.6 °C | 136 mm | +52 mm |
| Oct | 13.4 °C | 0.0 °C | 99 mm | +1 mm |
| Nov | 10.8 °C | +0.8 °C | 138 mm | +47 mm |
| Dec | 9.0 °C | +0.6 °C | 140 mm | +39 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Galway?
Galway has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 9.9 °C and it receives 1,011 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Galway?
The hottest day measured in Galway between 1940 and 2025 was 28 June 2018, reaching 30.5 °C.
What is the coldest day in Galway?
The coldest day measured in Galway between 1940 and 2025 was 24 December 2010, at -11.3 °C.
Does it snow in Galway?
Yes. Galway gets on average 7.9 cm of snow per year and has around 24 frost days.
Has the climate of Galway warmed?
Yes: Galway warmed by +0.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Galway?
The wettest day measured in Galway between 1940 and 2025 was 25 August 1986, with 48 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Galway?
The windiest day measured in Galway between 1940 and 2025 was 24 January 2025, with winds reaching 74.7 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Galway?
The warmest month in Galway is July (15.2 °C on average); the coldest is January (5.3 °C).
How much does it rain in Galway?
Galway receives on average 1,011 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 167 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Galway?
Galway gets on average 6.8 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 2,482 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Galway?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Galway between 1940 and 2025 was 10 December 2017, with 15.5 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Galway?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Galway.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Galway?
In Galway, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 33.8 °C on 13 July 1983, and the lowest was -15.6 °C on 24 December 2010.
Compare Galway with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Galway