According to the latest data from the Met Office, the Maltese Islands last month experienced the coldest start to spring since 1987.

The air temperature for March averaged at 12.4°C. This average was closer to the February climate norm of 12.6°C than to the March norm of 14.1°C. Last month’s highest temperature peaked at 25.2°C on the last day, having previously dipped to a minimum of 6.0°C on March 11.

The Met Office noted that while this minimum was quite low for March, it was not comparable to the lowest March temperature on record of 2.2°C, which dates back to 1949. In 1987, a similar minimum of 2.4°C had been recorded, with the air temperature for the month that year having averaged at 11.8°C.

Last month’s mean sea surface temperature, on the other hand, shows that this equalled the March climate norm for of 15.3°C.

While March generally ushers in sunnier weather along with longer days, the start to last spring was hardly steeped in sunshine. A heavier mean cloud cover of 4.2 oktas together with several instances of dust in suspension led to the clocking of 48.2 sunshine hours less than the norm of 224.7 hours.

Two days in March – the 13th and 19th – were marked by a complete absence of sunshine. Having yielded 18.4 mm of rain, or 77% of the total rainfall measured, March the 13th was also the wettest day of a drier-than-average month, the Met Office said.

March the 19th , on the other hand, was a windswept Saturday and followed the day that produced last month’s strongest wind gust of 47 knots from the East Southeast direction. Averaging at 11.1 knots, the wind speed for the month was higher than the climate norm of 9.5 knots.

Photo by Alain Salvary

Permalink: The Maltese Islands experienced the coldest start to spring since 1987