March in Malta was characterised by greyer skies, stronger winds and heavier showers when compared to records from previous years. The island also had the highest number of days with thunder since 1951, the Met Office said today.

Thunder was heard on six days (6th, 7th, 10th, 26th, 27th and 28th), which is higher than the monthly norm of two.

Last month, the Mediterranean island experienced almost twice the amount of average rainfall, collecting a total of 64.0mm. The average rainfall for March was 37.9mm. A total of 16.6mm of rainfall was collected on the wettest day (March 26th).

The most frequent wind direction was north-west, blowing at an average speed of 11.04 knots. This was higher than the norm of 9.4 knots. The strongest wind gust arrived on March 30th, blowing at 42 knots from the Northwest by West direction.

In total, 37 wind warnings were issued: seventeen of which were directed at the Luqa Airfield for aviation purposes, while another twenty warnings were aimed at the general public.

No hail or fog was reported at Luqa International Airport.

The mean temperature for March stood at 13.6°C, which was slightly lower (0.3°C) than what is expected during this period.

The highest temperature recorded was on March 22nd, when the mercury rose to 19.6°C. Meanwhile, the lowest temperature fell to 12.7°C on the 5th. The lowest night temperature (7.2°C) was recorded on the 9th.

A mean relative humidity of 81.9 per cent was recorded last month, which was slightly higher than the norm of 78 per cent.

The maximum relative humidity measured was 97 per cent on the 24th. Meanwhile, the lowest value of 58 per cent, recorded on the 7th, 13th, 14th and 29th March.

The average sea temperature stood at 15.3°C which is 0.2°C warmer than the average temperature for March.

Malta saw a total of 203 hours of bright sunshine last month, 19.3 hours less than the mean of 222.3 hours. There was an average of 6.6 hours of bright sunshine per day. The brightest day recorded was March 29th, clocking up a total of 10.7 hours of sunshine. Meanwhile, the dullest days (5th and 16th) saw no sunshine.

The warmest March on record was 2001, with an average of 16.9°C. The coolest was 1953 with a mean temperature of 11.4°C. The wettest March on record occurred in 1925 with a total of 178.0mm, while the driest one was in 1977 with just 0.40mm.

Photograph: Alain Salvary

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