Cork weather by month & the best time to visit
🇮🇪 Ireland · seaside town · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Cork is July — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 59/100), with August and June close behind. Cork averages about 1,693 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 18°C / 64°F and roughly 96 mm of rain in July.
Jump to: month-by-month table · sea temperature · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 1,693
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 59/100
- Rain / year
- 1,198 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 5 (moderate)
- Sea at warmest
- 15°C / 59°F
- Population
- 224k
- Elevation
- 142 m
.jpg/960px-Centre%2C_Cork%2C_Ireland_-_panoramio_(5).jpg)
When is the best time to visit Cork?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Cork is July, then August and June. The dullest month is January (0/100, 117 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Cork?
Cork isn't a sunny place by world standards: about 1,693 hours of sunshine a year. 59 Sunshine Score points separate July (59) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. Cork is the sunniest of the 10 destinations tracked in Ireland. The year's 1,198 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 8° / 46°F | 3° / 37°F | 117 mm | 0 | 9° / 48°F |
| February | 0 | 8° / 46°F | 3° / 37°F | 88 mm | 1 | 10° / 50°F |
| March | 6 | 9° / 48°F | 3° / 37°F | 86 mm | 2 | 9° / 48°F |
| April | 25 | 12° / 54°F | 5° / 41°F | 78 mm | 3 | 10° / 50°F |
| May | 36 | 14° / 57°F | 7° / 45°F | 84 mm | 5 | 14° / 57°F |
| June | 54 | 17° / 63°F | 10° / 50°F | 90 mm | 5 | 14° / 57°F |
| July | 59 | 18° / 64°F | 11° / 52°F | 96 mm | 5 | 14° / 57°F |
| August | 58 | 18° / 64°F | 11° / 52°F | 102 mm | 4 | 13° / 55°F |
| September | 48 | 16° / 61°F | 10° / 50°F | 89 mm | 3 | 15° / 59°F |
| October | 28 | 13° / 55°F | 8° / 46°F | 120 mm | 2 | 14° / 57°F |
| November | 11 | 10° / 50°F | 5° / 41°F | 124 mm | 1 | 13° / 55°F |
| December | 0 | 8° / 46°F | 4° / 39°F | 124 mm | 0 | 11° / 52°F |
Sea temperature in Cork by month
The sea off Cork is warmest in September at around 15°C / 59°F, and coolest in January at 9°C / 48°F. It never reaches comfortable swimming temperatures (21°C+). Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Cork on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Shannon Ireland · 100 km · best in Jul · 1,468 h sun/yr
- Charlestown Ireland · 231 km · best in Jul · 1,412 h sun/yr
- Dublin Ireland · 232 km · best in Jul · 1,488 h sun/yr
- Newquay United Kingdom · 289 km · best in Jul · 1,788 h sun/yr
- Belfast United Kingdom · 348 km · best in Jul · 1,263 h sun/yr
- Cardiff United Kingdom · 359 km · best in Jul · 1,565 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Kerry Ireland · 80 km · 1,466 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Inis Oírr Ireland · 153 km · 1,409 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Inis Meáin Ireland · 157 km · 1,409 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Inis Mór Ireland · 161 km · 1,409 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Connemara Ireland · 168 km · 1,410 h sun/yr · best in Jul
Head-to-head
How Cork compares month by month: Cork vs Dublin · Cork vs Shannon · Cork vs Charlestown · all comparisons
Put the Cork sunshine badge on your site
A compact badge showing Cork's sunshine at a glance — free to embed under CC BY 4.0. Paste this wherever you'd like it to appear:
Live preview — this is exactly what your readers see: