In February, following a drier than normal three months, the heavens opened and produced 181.4mm of rain. The Met Office said that this total exceeded the 56.9mm quota for February.

The ninth day of the month went down on record as the second wettest day in February since 1923, with 117mm of rain measured, leading to many carnival events being cancelled.

The islands were also battered by strong winds, with gusts equalling or exceeding 34 knots recorded on five separate days.

The maximum gust swept over the islands on the thirteenth day of the month, blowing at 44 knots from a North-West by West direction. The mean wind speed for February was 10.6 knots, rather than the 9.5 knots expected at this time of year.

The temperature dropped to a lowest minimum of 6.4°C on the 16th and climbed to a highest maximum of 18.6°C on the 25th, when much of Europe was gripped by a cold spell.

At 15.5°C, the month’s mean maximum temperature was 0.1°C lower than the norm, whilst the mean minimum temperature was a considerable 0.7°C higher than the expected 9.4°C.

The month’s sunniest day enjoyed a full 10 hours of sunshine, whilst the gloomiest day saw no sunshine at all.

A heavier mean cloud cover of 4.8 oktas and 46.6 sunshine hours less than the climate norm of 182.2 hours, made the month quite dull.

The Meteorological Office also reported three thundery days, two of which experienced hail.

Photograph by Alain Salvary

Permalink: Malta experiences strong winds and over 181mm of rain in February