Northern Irelands capital city, Belfast, sits on the east coast of the country, flanked by hills on two sides and is almost twice as rainy as Dublin- so whatever time of the year that you visit be sure to prepare yourself for loads of rainfall!
Similar to southern towns such as Dublin, Belfast has a temperate climate, though due to its more northerly location it sees much more dramatic daylight extremes than Dublin - more similar to that experienced in northern Scandinavia. During winter solstice the sun doesnât rise until just before 9am and will set again by 4pm- leaving the city in an extended period of night. On the flipside, during the summer solstice in June the sun rises before 5am and will not set again until after 10pm.
Belfast benefits from remarkably warm winters- considering its latitude. In fact, at places of the same latitude in Russia or Canada winter lows reach a blistering -45 ºC, while in Belfast winter in the past have reached 17 ºC! Winters can see their fair share of unusually warm days, though on average the maximum will sit at about 6 ºC. The average minimum is about 2 to 3 ºC during the winter months. Snow will fall on about 4 or 5 days throughout January and February, though you will often see it will melt quite quickly if a sporadic day of warmer temperature prevails.
The summer months in Belfast are mild and pleasant. Summers naturally see highs of 18 ºC and average minimum temperatures of 9 ºC in June, and 11 ºC in July and August. Although Belfast is a coastal city, one would generally not recommend swimming in the nearby sea even in the peak of summer sea temperatures only rise to maximums of 15 ºC. July is also the wettest month, recording 94mm of precipitation on average for the month, while April is the driest- recording 48mm precipitation.
Because Belfast lies in close proximity to hilly ground, it sees more rainfall than Dublin and on average records 845.8mm of rain per year on 213 days. When you combine the summerâs heat with the constant rainfall, the humidity can prove to be somewhat uncomfortable so be sure to pack some light clothing.