Rain and Storms swept across the Maltese islands last night, with a hail storm hitting Gozo at around 5.00am this morning, causing temperatures to plummet.The Met Office said this morning that New Year’s Eve revellers should pack on their woollens, as the cold weather affecting Europe reached Malta on Sunday night, significantly lowering temperatures.

Last night, thunderstorms and hail storms throughout Malta had temperatures going down to 4.8 degrees Celsius. Rainfall in the last 24 hours reached 27.4mm, with the heaviest rainfall recorded in Gozo.

The coldest day is expected to be New Year’s Eve with the maximum temperature reaching just 8 degrees Celsius, and dropping to 4 degrees Celsius at night.

The weather over the Maltese Islands will be affected by two depressions which will generate unstable and windy weather throughout the week. New Year’s Day is expected to see showers which may turn thundery at times. There is also a possibility of hail.

On average, the maximum temperature expected during the Christmas and New Year period is 16.3 degrees Celsius and the average minimum temperature is 10.00 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day registered during this period over the last 30 years was on the 26th of December 1986 with a temperature of 3.7 degrees Celsius.

Photos of hail in Gozo: Top by Jane Bower and below Alain Salvary

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