Cork weather in March

In March, Cork sees average daytime highs of 10°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 62 mm of precipitation across 11.8 wet days and about 11.5 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 9°C in the first days to 11°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 10 h 30 min at the start of March to 12 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Cork's 6th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Cork's year-round climate.

Daytime high
10°
9th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
62 mm
11.8 wet days
Daylight
11 h 30 min
6:58 AM – 6:29 PM
Cloud cover
76%
6th clearest
Wind
15 km/h
5th windiest
Solar energy
2.6 kWh/m²
Travel score
2.0
out of 10

Cork is city in County Cork, Munster Province, Ireland.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 7.9 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
6,005/km²
people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 9°C in the first days to 11°C by the end.

A typical March day in Cork reaches about 10°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 7°C and 12°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 1°C warmer than February and about 2°C cooler than April.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
193
293
393
493
593
693
794
894
994
1094
1194
12104
13104
14104
15104
16104
17104
18104
19104
20104
21104
22104
23104
24104
25104
26104
27104
28114
29114
30114
31115

How March really feels in Cork

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 8 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
8
wind chill below the day's low

The story in March is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Cork weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 9th-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 79130.38.11.3
Feb / 64110.59.61.4
Mar10° / 6211.80.311.52.0
Apr12° / 6912.60.113.62.8
May14° / 6713015.43.7
Jun17° / 10°6410.9016.44.9
Jul18° / 12°6711.80165.4
Aug18° / 12°6911.6014.45.4
Sep16° / 10°6410012.44.8
Oct13° / 8512.4010.43.4
Nov10° / 801208.62.2
Dec / 8412.80.27.61.5

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 76%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12773
22773
32773
42674
52674
62674
72575
82476
92377
102278
112179
122179
132278
142278
152179
162179
172278
182278
192278
202278
212278
222377
232377
242377
252476
262476
272575
282674
292674
302674
312674

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Cork gets around 62 mm of rain and snow over 11.8 wet days in March, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 38% and peaks near 42% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1412
2422
3422
4422
5421
6421
7411
8411
9401
10401
11391
12391
13381
14371
15361
16361
17351
18351
19341
20341
21351
22351
23361
24361
25371
26370
27380
28390
29390
30400
31400

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of March feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in March

Winds average 15 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 15 km/h on the calmest days to 16 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
116light breeze
216light breeze
316light breeze
416light breeze
516light breeze
616light breeze
716light breeze
816light breeze
916light breeze
1016light breeze
1116light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1915light breeze
2015light breeze
2115light breeze
2215light breeze
2315light breeze
2415light breeze
2515light breeze
2615light breeze
2715light breeze
2815light breeze
2915light breeze
3015light breeze
3115light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 30 min at the start of March to 12 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 120 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:32 AM to 6:23 AM, and sunset from 6:02 PM to 6:55 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
110.57:326:02
210.67:306:04
310.67:286:05
410.77:266:07
510.87:246:09
610.87:216:11
710.97:196:13
811.07:176:14
911.07:156:16
1011.17:126:18
1111.27:106:20
1211.27:086:22
1311.37:056:23
1411.47:036:25
1511.47:016:27
1611.56:586:29
1711.66:566:30
1811.66:546:32
1911.76:516:34
2011.86:496:36
2111.86:476:37
2211.96:446:39
2312.06:426:41
2412.16:406:43
2512.16:376:44
2612.26:356:46
2712.36:326:48
2812.36:306:50
2912.46:286:51
3012.56:256:53
3112.56:236:55

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 2.6 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.6 kWh/m² to a high of 5.16 kWh/m² in June across the year — March's 2.6 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.0Moderate
22.0Moderate
32.1Moderate
42.1Moderate
52.1Moderate
62.2Moderate
72.2Moderate
82.3Moderate
92.3Moderate
102.3Moderate
112.4Moderate
122.4Moderate
132.4Moderate
142.5Moderate
152.5Moderate
162.5Moderate
172.6Moderate
182.6Moderate
192.7Moderate
202.8Moderate
212.8Moderate
222.9Moderate
232.9Moderate
243.0Moderate
253.0Moderate
263.1Moderate
273.1Moderate
283.2Moderate
293.3Moderate
303.3Moderate
313.4Moderate
Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Cork?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

2.0
Sightseeing
9th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

March is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Cork.

What to pack for Cork in March

From March's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In March, Cork sees daytime highs around 10°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Cork in March

The nearest coast averages about 9°C in March — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 31 km away) is warmest in August at about 16°C and coldest in March near 9°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan10Bracing
Feb9Bracing
Mar9Bracing
Apr10Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug16Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct14Bracing
Nov12Bracing
Dec11Bracing

UV index in Cork in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cork peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 12UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May5High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Cork?

Cork sits at 51.9°N, 8.5°W, 10 m above sea level, in Ireland. The nearest listed city is Douglas, 4.0 km away.

Cluain MealaKillarneyLimerickTraleeWaterford

Topography around Cork

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Cork.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cork has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 141 m around an average of 41 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 272 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 916 m.

The land around Cork is covered by artificial surfaces (45%), trees (29%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, grassland (64%) within 16 km, and grassland (57%) and water (29%) within 80 km.

3 km
141 m
16 km
272 m
80 km
916 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
March weather nearby: Douglas 4.0 km · Ballincollig 8.0 km · Carrigaline 11 km · Cluain Meala 73 km · Killarney 73 km · Limerick 86 km · Tralee 94 km · Waterford 101 km

Ireland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type G
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 85% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$131,592
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
96%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Roman Catholic 69%none 15%Protestant 4%Orthodox 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Cork (51.898°, -8.4706°, elevation 10 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).