Page last updated Mon 1 Sep 2025

One of the wettest, stormiest seasons on record

There were nine named storms during the 2019/20 storm season, which ran from Sunday 1 September 2019 to Monday 31 August 2020 (inclusive). The season stands out for the exceptional wave heights (peaking at 21.3 m), multiple deep lows below 970 hPa, the number of storm force 10+ events and two late-summer storms.

The season began in October with Lorenzo, a post-tropical cyclone, with 14.2 m waves off the Donegal coast and heavy rain in Cork. In December, Atiyah struck with gusts up to 128 km/h and a massive 19.5 m wave in the deep Atlantic. Just ten days later, Elsa swept in with gusts of 126 km/h at Mace Head and over 73 mm of rain in County Tipperary.

January brought Brendan, producing sustained storm force winds at Roches Point, gusts to 135 km/h, and a 20 m wave in the Atlantic. February was dominated by back-to-back storms. Ciara brought gusts to 126 km/h, a minimum pressure of 962 hPa at Malin Head and 17.1 m waves. A week later, Dennis arrived with heavy rains, winds of 122 km/h, and the season's highest wave with 21.3 m recorded off Donegal. By the end of the month, Jorge, named by AEMet, dropped to 956.6 hPa, the lowest pressure of the season, and delivered gusts of 133 km/h at Mace Head.

Unusually, the season was extended into late summer with two named storms. Ellen, a violent storm, occurred in mid-August with gusts up to 143 km/h at Roches Point and over 60 mm of rain in Cork. Less than a week later, Francis brought extreme rainfall, 95.2 mm in County Kerry, along with gusts of 96 km/h.

Name (Named by) Peak Impact Date		Highest sustained wind speed (km/h)	Highest gust wind speed (km/h)	Highest daily rainfall total (mm)	Daily air temperatures (°C)	Lowest mean sea level pressure (hPa)	Highest individual wave (m)
-	LORENZO (NOAA/NHC) Fri 4 Oct 2019	Storm Force 89 km/h (48 knots | 55 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway around 6am	107 km/h (58 knots | 67 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway at 5:44am	46.3 mm Glengarriff (Ilnacullin), Co Cork on Sun 6th	5.6°C at Moore Park, Co Cork to 19.7°C at Glengarriff (Ilnacullin), Co Cork	985.8 hPa Finner, Co Donegal around 7am	14.2 m Buoy M4 (off Donegal coast) around 3am
A	ATIYAH (Met Éireann) Sun 8 Dec 2019	Storm Force 91 km/h (49 knots | 56 mph) Sherkin Island (coastal), Co Cork around 5pm	128 km/h (69 knots | 79 mph) Roches Point (coastal), Co Cork and Newport, Co Mayo around 7pm and 9pm	59.2 mm Leenane, Co Galway on Mon 9th	0.5°C at Clonroche, Co Wexford to 14.9°C at Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin	977.2 hPa Malin Head (coastal), Co Donegal around 9pm	19.5 m Buoy M6 (in the deep Atlantic) around 4pm
-	ELSA (IPMA) Wed 18 Dec 2019	Storm Force 98 km/h (53 knots | 61 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway around 9pm	126 km/h (68 knots | 78 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway at 9:13pm	73.2 mm Kilsheelan, Co Tipperary	-3.8°C at Moore Park, Co Cork to 13.1°C at Dooks, Co Kerry	967.4 hPa Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway around 9pm	10.1 m Buoy M5 (off south Wexford coast) around 1am Thu 19th
B	BRENDAN (Met Éireann) Mon 13 Jan 2020	Storm Force 96 km/h (52 knots | 60 mph) Roches Point (coastal), Co Cork around 11am	135 km/h (73 knots | 84 mph) Roches Point (coastal), Co Cork at 10:55am	34.0 mm Ballingeary (Voc.sch.), Co Cork	-0.5°C at Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan to 11.0°C at Mullagh, Co Clare	966.2 hPa Belmullet, Co Mayo around 3pm	20.0 m Buoy M6 (in the deep Atlantic) around 5pm
C	CIARA (Met Office) Sun 9 & Mon 10 Feb 2020	Storm Force 91 km/h (49 knots | 56 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway around 5pm on Mon 10th	126 km/h (68 knots | 78 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway at 6:28am	31.2 mm Clonoulty Clogher, Co Tipperary	-0.3°C at Ardee, Co Louth to 13.6°C at Moore Park, Co Cork	962.1 hPa Malin Head (coastal), Co Donegal around 10am	17.1 m Buoy M4 (off Donegal coast) around 9pm Mon 10th
D	DENNIS (Met Office) Sun 16 Feb 2020	Storm Force 93 km/h (50 knots | 58 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway around 7am	122 km/h (66 knots | 76 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway and Malin Head (coastal), Co Donegal at 0:28am and 7:19am	50.8 mm Cloone Lake (Caragh River Area), Co Kerry on Sat 15th	1.2°C at Ballinamore, Co Leitrim to 13.9°C at Fethard, Co Tipperary	968.0 hPa Malin Head, Co Donegal around 0am	21.3 m Buoy M4 (off Donegal coast) around 9pm
J	JORGE (AEMet) Sat 29 Feb 2020	Storm Force 100 km/h (54 knots | 62 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway around noon	133 km/h (72 knots | 83 mph) Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway at 11:37am	31.7 mm Gernapeka, Co Cork on Fri 28th	-1.7°C at Ardee, Co Louth to 14.8°C at Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin	956.6 hPa Malin Head (coastal), Co Donegal around 4pm	14.5 m Buoy M4 (off Donegal coast) around midnight Sat
E	ELLEN (Met Éireann) Wed 19 Aug 2020	Violent Storm 111 km/h (60 knots | 69 mph) Roches Point (coastal), Co Cork around 10pm	143 km/h (77 knots | 89 mph) Roches Point (coastal), Co Cork at 10:25pm	60.2 mm Bantry (Maulikeeve), Co Cork	9.4°C at Cloyne (Lisanley), Co Cork to 22.1°C at Glasnevin, Co Dublin	966.4 hPa Athenry, Co Galway around 1am on Thu 20th	9.5 m Buoy M5 (off south Wexford coast) around 1am Thu
F	FRANCIS (Met Office) Tue 25 Aug 2020	Gale Force 80 km/h (43 knots | 49 mph) Malin Head (coastal), Co Donegal around 11am	96 km/h (52 knots | 60 mph) Malin Head (coastal), Co Donegal and Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford at 11:30am and 2:31pm	95.2 mm Cummeragh Mountains (no.3), Co Kerry on Mon 24th	5.2°C at Glenties Hatchery, Co Donegal to 21.2°C at Cloyne (Lisanley), Co Cork	978.8 hPa Mace Head (coastal), Co Galway around 7am	12.4 m Buoy M5 (off south Wexford coast) around 2pm