Catchment News

Home News Hydrology Summary Bulletin – June 2026

Hydrology Summary Bulletin – June 2026

Hydrology bulletin on rainfall, river flows, lake levels, groundwater levels and spring outflows for June 2026

June 2026 was warm and relatively wet overall; rainfall was above average everywhere. A heat
dome from the south brought exceptionally high daytime and nighttime temperatures, along with
high humidity, towards the end of the month. The first third of the month was dominated by
Atlantic low pressure which brought widespread frontal rain interspersed with showers, sometimes
thundery. Mid-month, weather was influenced by a struggle between high pressure to the south
and low pressure to the west. Late June, high pressure re-established itself over Ireland. Weather
became drier, sunnier, and progressively warmer. The heat dome intensified, producing an
exceptionally hot and humid period from 22nd–26th June. Severe thunderstorms developed in some
locations on 25th–26th June. A cooler Atlantic air mass arrived on 27th June, ending the hottest
conditions.
Compared to May 2026, average river flows in June increased at 73% of river monitoring stations
assessed, with 67% of the monthly average river flows above the normal long-term range. Lake
levels also increased at 54% of monitored sites, 77% of lake and turlough sites were above the long
term normal range. Although groundwater levels decreased at 61% of monitoring locations, 64%
remained above the long-term normal range. Of the four spring flows monitored, 2 were classified
as ‘above normal’ and 2 were within the ‘normal’ range.

Download and read the full Hydrology bulletin for June 2026 here.

About EPA Monthly Hydrology Bulletin: Monthly Hydrology Bulletin – Catchments.ie – Catchments.ie

Access previous EPA monthly Hydrology Bulletins here: Monitoring & Assessment: Freshwater & Marine Publications | Environmental Protection Agency

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.