2024 in Pictures

cnocbui

The Galtees this afternoon - 30-1-24 - as seen from North Tipp.

toggle toes

Stunning Image of the Galtees. 😍

sryanbruen

Here's my review of 2024 in pictures.

January was a month of mixed fortunes. Nothing too much happened at home in Dublin besides a foggy day on the 7th and crisp sunshine during the cold spell from the 15th-19th. North had some snow during the spell which I went and chased on Tyrone on the 16th (first image from Cookstown) followed by Donegal on the 18th (second image from the Barnesmore Gap). There was also a very bright lunar halo on the 24th - the brightest one I had ever seen.

February was exceptionally mild - the 6th milder than average one in a row and one of the mildest ever recorded. Very wet with plentiful rain and cloud. About the only interest this month provided was some fiery skies, a bright rainbow on the evening of the 12th when a heavy shower coincided with sunset which I lined up with the Portmarnock Martello Tower and a fantastic full moonrise during a rare break in the clouds which then gave another bright lunar halo like January.

Another terrible month was to follow in March with mild, wet conditions being the dominance. The month began however with an unusual snow event with a slider low that gave widespread heavy snow over Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow etc whilst other parts of Dublin into Meath had too much onshore influence turning it to rain here. It was the heaviest snowfall since 2018 in Dublin City. First image from the Hellfire Club car park and second image from Lough Tay.

Easterly winds and high spring tide brought some of the highest waves in a while for the east coast, third image from Dún Laoghaire.

The terrible weather continued yet again into April which was ANOTHER wet and mostly mild month though it became cooler later. However, the cherry blossoms were out in force. It was a very good blossoms season and they stuck around for a while despite Storm Kathleen earlier on bringing some windy conditions for the time of year. Finally at last, the weekend of the 20th/21st April brought a temporary reprieve with a sunny high pressure bringing the first genuine fine period of the year. There were a few geomagnetic storms mid-month including a rather strong one on the 19th but the timing was off for Ireland with darkness falling too late.

First image: Clontarf seafront getting hit by waves during Storm Kathleen high tide on the 6th April.

Second image: The cherry blossoms blooming in Herbert Park on the 11th during a rare fine morning before more rain came later.

Third image: A lovely morning at the cherry blossoms in the Irish National War Memorial Gardens on the 20th beside the Phoenix Park.

Fourth image: Distant mist and a calm sunrise ideal for some horse riding in the Irish Sea at Portmarnock Beach on the 21st.

May was one of the more interesting months of 2024. It was the warmest on record - a fact that sparked lots of controversy. It was far from the greatest ever with poor sunshine and rather wet in the south due to some very wet days. Of course the month will be remembered most of all for the amazing geomagnetic storm on the 10th/11th that gave us the brightest aurora display since at least Halloween 2003. It blew our expectations away for what was possible, particularly with the limited amount of darkness levels at that time of year. It also coincided with one of the clearest nights of the entire month during a warm, sunny area of high pressure that did not last long but gave some noteworthy warm weather for that early. Darkness Into Light sunrise would immediately follow the next morning after the aurora display with perfect misty conditions. The humid nature of the airmasses that resulted in a lot of cloud also provided some other foggy mornings.

First three images are different shots of the epic aurora display on the night of the 10th/11th at Ballynafagh Church, Kildare.

Fourth image is an aerial view of Newbridge Demesne during the Darkness Into Light sunrise on the 11th.

Fifth image is the rapeseed fields by the Greystones coast during the fine weather on the 10th before all the aurora kicked off. Note also the lee wave clouds formed by the Wicklow Mountains.

Sixth image is Trim Castle getting surrounded by fog at sunrise on the 20th.

Last image is a panorama of the Howth Peninsula on the 16th. The Baily Lighthouse was one of the very few parts of the county fog free that morning.

June was ok. A bit cool, especially early on. A lot of dry weather but a lack of a well defined fine period. There were a few noctilucent clouds displays - most notably on the 20th and the 25th into the 26th which was supposedly the brightest in many years but Dublin was clouded out for that one. The first image below is from the morning of the 20th down at Sandymount preluding the earliest summer solstice since 1796. Besides that, nothing really happened in June.

DOCARCH

Fantastic SB! 👏

sryanbruen

Finishing off the rest of my 2024 look back in pictures.

July was a weird one. First half was notably cool whilst the second half was warmer but nothing memorable. It was a poor month but not terrible. The most notable aspect of it in my view was its occasional fiery sky colours. Summer is naturally hazier and haze mutes colours yet 1st July 2024 brought one of the most epic fiery skies I've seen (the first picture from Donaghmede). The 8th, 11th and 30th were not too bad either. Not what I'd expect to see in July. My best noctilucent clouds display of the year occurred on the 17th July (second picture from Poolbeg). There were a few misty mornings too (third picture at Slane, Meath from the 28th).

Much of August was enjoyable. It was a dry month here in the east compared to out west where it was the usual soggy affair. The first half had plenty of fine and warm conditions whilst the second half deteriorated to an extent aside from the final two days which were the best of the month and some of the best of the entire year.

As for what interest it provided, there was a massive aurora display on the 12th. Got a good peek of it before the Atlantic cloud came. The first image is from Burrow Beach, Sutton on that evening.

There were massive thunderstorms across Ireland on the night of the 11th/12th but we avoided them in the east. Managed to capture an offshore storm from Portrane which are the second and third pictures.

September had the best spell of the year for overall fine weather mid-month. Either end of it was poor. There was an aurora display on the 12th into the 13th but it peaked before nightfall in Ireland with mediocre solar stats for the rest of the night - still managed to get some pillars at such a good location in Knockbridge, Louth. Had to wait hours in the cold (it was a very cold night for the time of year with the earliest frost since 2010 observed) to get that image which is the first one. That same night there was a lovely view of the milky way too whilst waiting with a faint stable auroral red arc passing through it.

As is to be expected with the time of year (mellow mists and fruitfulness), misty mornings were aplenty through the fine spell mid-month. I took advantage and got Malahide Castle twice, on the 17th first with a fogbow and then again on the 19th with a colourful dawn sky. There was patchy mist at Skerries Mills on the 18th which was not the best choice of location as it was quite clear there whilst Dublin Bay had plenty of mist and fog. The 20th had thicker fog for much of Dublin so I went to the Hellfire Club to get above the inversion. As well as all this, there was perfect conditions for the full moonrise on the 17th which lined it up with Howth Lighthouse from the far end of Portmarnock Velvet Strand.

The main highlight of October was of course the absolutely epic aurora display on the night of the 10th/11th which I have so many images of. Unfortunately some are out of focus as I was too excited taking it in that I didn't take the time to get my focus down on the camera. It was unbelievable how clearly I could see it around midnight on the 11th this close to Dublin City and how well it timed with visiting the Great South Wall and Poolbeg Lighthouse. I am unlikely to get an experience like that again but next chance of an aurora as big as that, I am returning to fix my mistakes. It's also unbelievable how lucky we got with the weather for both the May and October auroras with ideal clear skies and in a cloudy year like 2024. That is mad luck for Ireland.

The other interest October had was Comet A3 which was not as good as Neowise from July 2020 sadly as it didn't last long at good brightness and altitude in our sky. The best chance was the evening of the 14th but I messed up my location choice and Clontarf wasn't the best option where I got it setting over the city in the second last image. I tried to align it with the Poolbeg Chimneys on the 17th but by then its magnitude had significantly faded getting further away from the earth. There was another small aurora display on the night of the 26th/27th but it wasn't significant and I think I've shared enough images from October so time to move on to November.

November had its interest despite being a mostly mediocre month. The first 9 days were terrible. Often very damp, nothing to speak of whatsoever besides the 6th being exceptionally mild as the sun shone for a little bit with a southerly airflow and strong foehn effect.

There was a nice early snowfall for Wicklow on the 19th and 21st to which I visited Lough Tay. The Mourne Mountains were visible with a snow cap too on the 19th from Kilakee. What parts of the west got though on the 21st was extraordinary for the time of year… I mean, when do you hear the Cliffs of Moher or Achill having lying snow in November, never mind how much they actually got.

December was terrible. It had some great fiery skies early on and inversions on the 26th/27th but other than that, the less said about it the better.

That concludes my 2024 look back in pictures. I hope you've enjoyed if you're still viewing this thread and thank you for all the kind comments. I'm always trying to up my game when it comes to capturing epic weather scenes which I feel are as important of a tool as statistics are in looking back on a historic weather event or period. See you in the 2025 thread at the end of the year or the start of 2026!