Turning very warm/hot, heatwave conditions likely; Sunday 24th -->

Kermit.de.frog

Gonzo wrote: »

got very close to 27C here today. not as warm as Wednesday 27th June which reached 28C here, but today felt hotter.

I reckon this weekend could be the hottest weekend of the year across the east including Dublin, and remaining very hot till about Tuesday. Next week still looks mostly very settled but unsure of how warm or hot it will get.

Every chance of reaching 30c Saturday, Sunday or Monday. After that easterly breezes will push higher temperatures further west in the country.

Doctor Jimbob

SleetAndSnow wrote: »

Sure there will be reprocussions but there really isn’t anything we can do about it. Nature will do what nature does, we can’t just make it rain. I have a feeling this will be a learning curve of a year for everybody, especially farmers, to prepare for the seasons and everything that could happen in the future. We all know we can now get extreme low temperatures and now even droughts.

But again weather will do what weather does we can’t do anything. So if you can enjoy the heat enjoy it. If you don’t like the heat then try your best to avoid it. Do as you want but this is rare in Ireland, we all know that

That's exactly it. There's absolutely nothing we can do about it so might as well make the best of it. The fact people are saying that doesn't mean we don't understand that there are bad sides to it all as well.

sryanbruen

SleetAndSnow wrote: »

Sure there will be reprocussions but there really isn’t anything we can do about it. Nature will do what nature does, we can’t just make it rain. I have a feeling this will be a learning curve of a year for everybody, especially farmers, to prepare for the seasons and everything that could happen in the future. We all know we can now get extreme low temperatures and now even droughts.

But again weather will do what weather does we can’t do anything. So if you can enjoy the heat enjoy it. If you don’t like the heat then try your best to avoid it. Do as you want but this is rare in Ireland, we all know that

Indeed, it is a great learning curve for the country. It was obvious how the country learned from 2010 with the way they did things this year when the Beast came. We have not had a Summer like this (a drought type Summer) for a long time (1995) and it is likely that next time there is a similar Summer to this, the country will have prepared better because of the great learning curve that 2018 has given us.

Kermit.de.frog

Highest temperatures tomorrow in the southeast



Cloudier in the northwest with a little drizzle at times.

Ultimate Seduction

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I’m beginning to feel very sorry for farmers and especially livestock . If my garden and lawn is suffering I can only imagine how farmers feel looking at their fields burning up . Cattle need water to thrive , cows need it to produce good yields of milk . Horses are suffering too and sheep. Farmers have been culling cattle that they can’t fatten now and can’t afford to hold on to as food is in such short supply.

It’s easy for us as humans to rock up to Tesco or any petrol station to buy a can of Coke, a cool 6 pack or beer, ice cream , water etc. We can enjoy the heat, head to the beach to cool off.........

Animals are suffering and are dependent on dwindling water supplies. Wildlife need it , birds are becoming so quiet, no water in the rivers for swans and their young. I was out cycling at the weekend and was shocked at the impact on wildlife. Gorse and forest fires will become a higher risk day by day. It’s very worrying .

People who are telling everyone to just enjoy it aren’t looking at the bigger picture , there will be repercussions for months.... even if we got rain tomorrow .

A bit OTT there now aren't you? Yes, the grass isn't growing but to say there's no water in the rivers for swans and animals are going thirsty is a bit much and food in such short supply made me laugh.

mickger844posts

Sunshine was a bit hazier today in Waterford City but we still had 12 hours. Max Temp was 23.1c but Humidity was higher so feeling warmer than that 23c.
Clouds did move in this evening but no sign of any rain.

www.waterfordweather.com

sryanbruen

It's not the supply that's the problem, it's the high demand from people who are in need of staying hydrated because of the hot weather, just like at Northern Ireland's hosepipe ban for example even though May and June weren't remarkably dry up there.

Cantona's Collars

Gonzo wrote: »

got very close to 27C here today. not as warm as Wednesday 27th June which reached 28C here, but today felt hotter.

I reckon this weekend could be the hottest weekend of the year across the east including Dublin, and remaining very hot till about Tuesday. Next week still looks mostly very settled but unsure of how warm or hot it will get.

I'm currently in your neck of the woods in Meath.
I had to laugh at the missus today when the clouds appeared, "I'm going back to Wexford to the sun". I said "wait til you get out of the car". The blast of heat was unreal after being sat in an air-conditioned vehicle for 2 hours.Clouds didn't take long to burn off this evening.

sdanseo

sryanbruen wrote: »

It's not the supply that's the problem, it's the high demand from people who are in need of staying hydrated because of the hot weather, just like at Northern Ireland's hosepipe ban for example even though May and June weren't remarkably dry up there.

It's a mixture of both.

Even if the reservoirs were filled to the brim, the water treament plants can only supply a fixed amount of treated potable water to consumers. Of this a large amount is lost to leaks and wasteage. Deman then naturally increases with the heat.

In the medium term, if the dry weather continues, the reservoirs will continue to drop and eventually if there was no rain they would empty, and that's where a Cape Town type scenario would kick in. The likelihood that Ireland's supply of water would dry up in this way is stupendously low, but then again, we don't invest enough in public infrastructure and that which we do spend is based around the probabilities we are used to, not catering for reservoir capacity needed for a month of drought.

The difference is kind of like the technical difference between an absolute drought and an effective drought. Just because rain is falling doesn't mean everywhere gets it. Just because the reservoir has water doesn't mean everywhere can be supplied.

tl;dr - it makes sense to ban the unnecessary use of water when the ability to supply the amount required is uncertain. Add in the fact that replensihment may also come under threat, and it's a no brainer.

BliainanAir

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

A bit OTT there now aren't you? Yes, the grass isn't growing but to say there's no water in the rivers for swans and animals are going thirsty is a bit much and food in such short supply made me laugh.

Maggie's post is far from over the top.

Also this idea that farmers should somehow learn from the events of 2018 is inaccurate.

There is only so much silage and hay you can make on an average year, you can save a bit extra some years. But when a growing season is late, with a late Spring and then curtailed again from late May due to drought, you can't magically make fodder for animals.

I love this weather as much as the next person but people need to understand, as Swetmaggie posted, that if it rained in the morning we still have problems.

When driving in the countryside i see birds suffering from drought struggling to take off and fly on roads etc.

Ultimate Seduction

sryanbruen wrote: »

Indeed, it is a great learning curve for the country. It was obvious how the country learned from 2010 with the way they did things this year when the Beast came. We have not had a Summer like this (a drought type Summer) for a long time (1995) and it is likely that next time there is a similar Summer to this, the country will have prepared better because of the great learning curve that 2018 has given us.

2006 was a drought? At least it was in South Tipp, water was turned off for a few hours every day for around a week

Ultimate Seduction

BliainanAir wrote: »

Maggie's post is far from over the top.

Also this idea that farmers should somehow learn from the events of 2018 is inaccurate.

There is only so much silage and hay you can make on an average year, you can save a bit extra some years. But when a growing season is late, with a late Spring and then curtailed again from late May due to drought, you can't magically make fodder for animals.

I love this weather as much as the next person but people need to understand, as Swetmaggie posted, that if it rained in the morning we still have problems.

When driving in the countryside i see birds suffering from drought struggling to take off and fly on roads etc.

There is no rivers dried up so much that swans have no where to go.

Harry Palmr

Notably chillier out there tonight, might get a better sleep.

BliainanAir

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

There is no rivers dried up so much that swans have no where to go.

Well i'd agree on that point but i agree with most of her post.

BliainanAir

No i'm not one of the moany people who are never happy..it's too wet, too cold, too hot, too dry etc.

I absolutely love the weather we're having personally. It's just an awful pity that there are serious side effects to it.

I was chatting with my brother, who farms, and we both agreed if it rained for 2 hours each night and returned to sun and high temperatures next day that would be ideal!!

If Carlsberg did weather:D

sdanseo

BliainanAir wrote: »

Also this idea that farmers should somehow learn from the events of 2018 is inaccurate.

Do farmers collect rainwater in any meaningful way at present?

If not, or for those that don't you'd imagine a basic lesson might be to invest in a very large tank and connect it up to the gutter of a shed or barn. The 10 months of the year where it rains in abundance could supply enough water for the basics when things get this bad.

Sure it won't replace rain but it would help.

Ultimate Seduction

sdanseo wrote: »

Do farmers collect rainwater in any meaningful way at present?

If not, or for those that don't you'd imagine a basic lesson might be to invest in a very large tank and connect it up to the gutter of a shed or barn. The 10 months of the year where it rains in abundance could supply enough water for the basics when things get this bad.

Sure it won't replace rain but it would help.

Them big barns would collect serious amount of rain too I'd imagine. But this is a once every 20 year event so most likely a waste of money and time.

BliainanAir

sdanseo wrote: »

Do farmers collect rainwater in any meaningful way at present?

If not, or for those that don't you'd imagine a basic lesson might be to invest in a very large tank and connect it up to the gutter of a shed or barn. The 10 months of the year where it rains in abundance could supply enough water for the basics when things get this bad.

Sure it won't replace rain but it would help.

Unfortunately to collect enough rainwater to have any impact on growth of grass or crops would be beyond farmers finances.

For example it costs 10s of thousands of euro to construct slurry tanks to hold 30,000 litres of slurry. When you spread this on your land it's dried off in a few hours.

Donegal Storm

BliainanAir wrote: »

No i'm not one of the moany people who are never happy..it's too wet, too cold, too hot, too dry etc.

I absolutely love the weather we're having personally. It's just an awful pity that there are serious side effects to it.

I was chatting with my brother, who farms, and we both agreed if it rained for 2 hours each night and returned to sun and high temperatures next day that would be ideal!!

If Carlsberg did weather:D

Pretty much what a tropical climate can be like a lot of the time, sunny mornings, cloud bubbling up in the afternoon then a big thunderstorm just as its getting dark.. perfection :cool:

Just a shame about the 24/7 suffocating humidity!

BliainanAir

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

Them big barns would collect serious amount of rain too I'd imagine. But this is a once every 20 year event so most likely a waste of money and time.

A lot of water is collected in slurry tanks and spreading can only take place at certain times of the year so as not to pollute waterways.

Ultimate Seduction

BliainanAir wrote: »

A lot of water is collected in slurry tanks and spreading can only take place at certain times of the year so as not to pollute waterways.

I'm a townie so wouldn't know much but can ye take the slurry tanks to a river and suck up water, or even a milk tanker from local creamery?

BliainanAir

Another problem is land drainage.

At home land is heavy and 19 out of 20 years the problem is getting water off fields with good drainage systems. Paradoxically this year that has proven to be a problem!

In 1976 on the 170 acres at home half that land was poorly drained. Hence it grew great grass that year. In 1995 about 40 of the 170 acres weren't well drained. Ahain a safe haven for grazing that summer. This year all land has been drained to increase productivity. The result a lot of burnt, dry land.

sdanseo

BliainanAir wrote: »

Unfortunately to collect enough rainwater to have any impact on growth of grass or crops would be beyond farmers finances.

For example it costs 10s of thousands of euro to construct slurry tanks to hold 30,000 litres of slurry. When you spread this on your land it's dried off in a few hours.

Slurry tanks have to be underground though, and have safety features.

Would one or two of the big water butts you see at a car wash (maybe 10,000 litres each, more? ) on a concrete slab fed from the gutters not do the trick for water?

For example instead of €20k for a slurry tank, https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/water-tanks/water-storage-tanks/20000-litre-water-tanks/enduramaxx-20000-litre-water-tank-non-potable.html for €2k ?
(I know almost zero about farming, don't get me wrong)

BliainanAir

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

I'm a townie so wouldn't know much but can ye take the slurry tanks to a river and suck up water, or even a milk tanker from local creamery?

The actual tanks are concrete and are to a depth of 15 feet, 30 foot wide, 120 feet long for example on average.

You end up taking the actual tanker, which can hold say 1,200 litres to a local river and as you say suck up water. At home we have a stream to suck water from, it's nearly dry. Next stop 10 miles away! Say a cow drinks 120 litres a day. One load of water will give drink to 12 cows. So you would be drawing water all day on top of the normal chores. Has to be done though.

prinzeugen

sdanseo wrote: »

Do farmers collect rainwater in any meaningful way at present?

If not, or for those that don't you'd imagine a basic lesson might be to invest in a very large tank and connect it up to the gutter of a shed or barn. The 10 months of the year where it rains in abundance could supply enough water for the basics when things get this bad.

Sure it won't replace rain but it would help.

The Aviva Stadium has huge tanks that gather rain water from the roof and its is used to water the pitch/flush toilets etc but it is not big enough to meet year round demand so they still need to take water from the Dodder.

A farm would need a tank the size of an ocean going oil tanker to supply the basics in this weather.

Itssoeasy

Other than the very brief rain which barely wetted the ground and it been ever so slightly chillier the sky is clear and there was a beautiful sunset with lovely orange skies. So if I hadn't seen the rain I'd have no idea it even happened.

BliainanAir

sdanseo wrote: »

Slurry tanks have to be underground though, and have safety features.

Would one or two of the big water butts you see at a car wash (maybe 10,000 litres each, more? ) on a concrete slab fed from the gutters not do the trick for water?

You could dig and try and store alright sdanseo. You just run into problems with the actual volume of water cattle drink.. 120 litres a dairy cow. Also drainage systems in fields today are more advanced. There was a scheme called REPS, basically a grant each year if you farmed in an environmentally friendly way. One rule had fencing a few metres away from little streams and waterways where cattle once drank in summer heat.

sdanseo

BliainanAir wrote: »

The actual tanks are concrete and are to a depth of 15 feet, 30 foot wide, 120 feet long for example on average.

You end up taking the actual tanker, which can hold say 1,200 litres to a local river and as you say suck up water. At home we have a stream to suck water from, it's nearly dry. Next stop 10 miles away! Say a cow drinks 120 litres a day. One load of water will give drink to 12 cows. So you would be drawing water all day on top of the normal chores. Has to be done though.

A cow can drink 120 litres in a day?

Ultimate Seduction

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

A bit OTT there now aren't you? Yes, the grass isn't growing but to say there's no water in the rivers for swans and animals are going thirsty is a bit much and food in such short supply made me laugh.

Did you see the RTE news tonight ? Swans in a few inches of water in a river in the Midlands with young signets. Cattle walking right down into river beds to get water and levels dropping by the day? If there is no water there is no grass for feed . Yeah sure RTE were probably just having a laugh , I’d say farmers think it’s really funny too .

sryanbruen

sdanseo wrote: »

It's a mixture of both.

Even if the reservoirs were filled to the brim, the water treament plants can only supply a fixed amount of treated potable water to consumers. Of this a large amount is lost to leaks and wasteage. Deman then naturally increases with the heat.

In the medium term, if the dry weather continues, the reservoirs will continue to drop and eventually if there was no rain they would empty, and that's where a Cape Town type scenario would kick in. The likelihood that Ireland's supply of water would dry up in this way is stupendously low, but then again, we don't invest enough in public infrastructure and that which we do spend is based around the probabilities we are used to, not catering for reservoir capacity needed for a month of drought.

The difference is kind of like the technical difference between an absolute drought and an effective drought. Just because rain is falling doesn't mean everywhere gets it. Just because the reservoir has water doesn't mean everywhere can be supplied.

tl;dr - it makes sense to ban the unnecessary use of water when the ability to supply the amount required is uncertain. Add in the fact that replensihment may also come under threat, and it's a no brainer.

Going by your logic at the end then hosepipe ban should always be a thing in the case of Northern Ireland.

I only said that because I was wondering why Northern Ireland out of all of the UK got a hosepipe ban compared to England where it has been far drier than Northern Ireland and then somebody gave that answer that I said on here.