placenames.ie
Population centre

Katesbridge

Droichead Cháit

Katesbridge’s weather station has recorded several exceptionally cold days, including a severe Christmas frost in 2010.

Watercolour and fine ink illustration of The River Bann at Katesbridge, as photographed in 2006.
Illustration, The River Bann at Katesbridge, as photographed in 2006
Recorded locationKatesbridge54.30333° N · 6.14098° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Approximate recorded location · Logainm.ie

The name

droicheadbridge

These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.

An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.

Recorded forms

  • Droichead Cháit · Irish · main form · validated name
  • Katesbridge · English · main form

Place & story

Cold beyond the winter months

On 2 March 2001 the station at Katesbridge recorded −14.8°C. The Met Office lists this as Northern Ireland’s lowest daily minimum for March. Two later observations also entered its monthly record table: −1.9°C on 24 August 2014 and −3.7°C on 27 September 2020. These dated measurements show that the locality’s notable frosts extend beyond midwinter. [2]

Christmas 2010

Katesbridge recorded −17.5°C on Christmas Day 2010. In its Christmas weather records, the Met Office identifies that observation as Northern Ireland’s coldest recorded Christmas Day. This is a record for that calendar day, rather than an all-time temperature minimum for Northern Ireland. [3]

Geographic information

Place type
Population centre
County
Down
Civil parish
Drumballyroney
Civil parish
Newry
Civil parish
Annaclone
Coordinates
54.30333, -6.14098 (approximate)
Logainm ID
130101 ↗

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Katesbridge. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. UK climate extremes: Northern Ireland lowest daily minimum records · Met Office
  3. White Christmas and UK Christmas weather records · Met Office
  4. The River Bann at Katesbridge, as photographed in 2006 illustration: based on a The River Bann at Katesbridge (2) by Albert Bridge. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2019-10-08. How this page was prepared.