Geography and climate of Ireland
The geography of Ireland has often been related to that of a saucer the edges representing the the granite mountains and cliffs which are found predominately in the coastal areas whilst the central area of Ireland is much less mountainous, It is in these flatter areas that the larger rivers widen out to form large loughs. Most of the countries running water is made up from alkaline rivers before joining the sea via winding marshy estuaries.
Ireland has a temperate, humid climate due to the action of the prevailing southwesterly winds and the warming effects of the Gulf Stream having the effect of keeping the country "warm" in winter. The combined effect of these factors is that whilst sharing similar latitude with other countries the climate swings between winter and summer are not as severe. Snow when it does fall rarely lasts long and is usually "Here one day and gone the next", possible exceptions being the higher mountains where snow will melt much slower. Where Ireland does differ is in the general weather which would best be described as "Changeable" one such expression to confirm this is "You get all four seasons in the one Day here". The mid East of Ireland generally receives less that 30 inches of rain with the South and West can receive over 80 inches per year. over 6 feet of rain !!.