page_title: Climate of Ireland
section_title: Fog
hierarchical_section_title: Climate of Ireland / Fog
caption_attribution_description: English: Winter fog in the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland.
context_page_description: The climate of Ireland is mild, humid and changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes. Ireland's climate is defined as a temperate oceanic climate, or Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system, a classification it shares with most of northwest Europe. The country receives generally warm summers and cool winters.
  As Ireland is downwind of a large ocean, it is considerably milder in winter than other locations at the same latitude, for example Newfoundland in Canada or Sakhalin in Russia. The Atlantic
  overturning circulation, which includes ocean currents such as the North Atlantic Current and Gulf Stream, releases additional heat over the Atlantic, which is then carried by the prevailing winds towards Ireland, giving Ireland a milder climate than other temperate oceanic climates at similar latitudes, for example Seattle in the United States.
  The prevailing wind blows from the southwest, breaking on the high mountains of the west coast. Rainfall is therefore a particularly prominent part of western Irish life, with Valentia Island, off the west coast of County Kerry, getting almost twice as much annual rainfall as Dublin on the east.
context_section_description: Fog is more common inland and on higher altitudes; mainly during winter and during the morning at times of high pressure.
  The foggiest station is that at Cork Airport, County Cork, which has 99.5 days of fog per year.
  The least foggy station is that at Valentia Island, County Kerry, which has 8.9 days of fog per year.
caption: Fog in the Wicklow Mountains
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