2006: Weather
by Mark Vella Gera
Very wet and cold January
2006 opened with the wettest January for at least 20 years since rainfall records began at Balzan in 1985, Malta Weather Services reported. With a total of 222.4mm, the rainfall was above the average by 129.3mm or more than double the mean January rainfall of 93.1mm! The previous wettest January since 1985 was 210.7mm in January 1992.
There were 23 days of rain during January – this was also another record beating the previous record of 20 days of rain in 2000 by 3 days. The heaviest downpour occurred on the 9th with a total of 55.5 mm. There were also 16 days with thunderstorms and 11 days with hail, both values being the highest ever for any month of the year since at least 1985!
January 2006, with a mean temperature of 11.6°C, was the second coldest January since 1987 and was cooler by 1.5 degrees Celsius, than the average of the past 18 years. Besides, the mean maximum temperature for January 2006 of just 13.8 degrees Celsius was the lowest ever since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987!
The coldest day in January was on the 24th with a high of just 10.6 degrees, while the coldest nights were on the 24th and 26th with lows of just 4.7 degrees! There was also a low of only 4.0 degrees at the Airport on the 25th. The warmest day in January was on the 29th with a high of only 16.8 degrees. This was almost 3 degrees below the mean of 19.6 degrees. The warmest January day on record occurred on 28th January 1988 with a balmy 22.2 degrees. The coldest January night ever was on 7th January 2002 with 3.9 degrees.
All this wet and cold weather was the result of various low pressure systems and their associated warm/cold fronts passing over or forming close to the central Mediterranean, bringing cold air from central Europe and Siberia which contrasted with the warmer air over the Mediterranean, thereby resulting in heavy downpours on more than one occasion in January. Other days had rainfall due to upper-level troughs forming over or extending to the central Mediterranean.
It was extremely windy late evening on the last day of the month, with highest gusts from a northeasterly direction registered at the Airport 43 knots, Rabat 38 knots, Msida 41 knots, Nadur 44 knots, Victoria 37 knots and Mellieha an extremely high gust of 50 knots (Force 10). Winds were even stronger in the early hours of 1st February.
A cold February too
With a mean temperature of 12.6°C, January was colder, by 0.3°C, than the average at Balzan. The coldest February, since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987, was in 2003 with an average temperature of 10.8°C.
February 7th was the coldest February day ever since records began in 1987 when the temperature just made it to 8.7°C. Last month's nights, with a mean temperature of 10.5°C, were however warmer than the average by 0.7°C, with the coldest night being that of the 15th, when the mercury plunged to 4.9°C. But the coldest night on record was that of 1st February 1999, when the thermometer plunged to 2.6°C.
The weather station at Balzan also keeps a daily record of the lowest temperature at grass height level, a few centimetres above the ground. The coldest it got, down there last month, was 1.4°C (that is more than one degree below freezing) - and that was on February 15th.
With a total of only 63.0mm, rainfall was practically what would normally be expected for the month. However, rainfall in February is, generally speaking, quite erratic, in that months of plenty are often followed by lean months. The highest amount, last month, 29.7mm, occurred on the afternoon and evening of February 23.
The day before that, a deep depression, or low pressure system, developed in the Algerian desert. This moved quite rapidly eastwards towards southern Tunisia, increasing in strength, forming rain bearing clouds and raising enormous sandstorms over much of the western part of North Africa. It then turned north-eastwards passing slightly to the north of the Maltese Islands around noon of February 23.
Another cold month!
March 2006 was another colder-than-average month - in fact, it was cooler by 0.4 degrees when compared to the average since 1987 at Balzan. Last month's mean temperature was 14.1°C, while the average is 14.5°C. The warmest March, since 1987, was that of 2001 with 17.1°C and the coolest was 2003's with a mean of 13.1°C.
The warmest day was on the 28th with 21.6°C. The warmest March day since 1987 was that of 2001 when on the 25th it reached a high of 33.5°C.
March nights were just about average, with the lowest temperature, 6.6°C, reached shortly before dawn of the 13th and the 16th. However, 9th March 1993, with a low of 4.8°C, is the coldest March night on record.
Our weather station at Balzan also keeps a daily record of the lowest temperature at grass height level, a few centimetres above the ground. The coldest it got, down there, in March, was just 0.8°C - on 16th March.
With a total of only 30.0 mm of rainfall, last month was 5.1 mm below the average for the month. The average rainfall since 1985 at Balzan is 35.1mm. The wettest March on record was that of 1996 when a total of 125 mm drenched the islands; the driest was that of 2000 with only 4.7 mm of rain.
The highest gust, recorded on the night between the 11th and the 12th, was 40 knots (74.4 km/h) from a west southwesterly direction. However, at Mellieha, the highest gust on that night was of 57 knots (105.5 km/h) from a northwesterly direction. The most frequent direction last month was the westnorthwesterly.
One of the driest and warmest Aprils on record
April 2006 was the driest April since records started being kept at Balzan in 1985. In fact, only 0.6mm or rainfall was measured last month, compared to the average of 27.3mm. The previous driest April was in 1993 with 2.1mm.
This was because April 2006 was dominated by relatively high pressure over the central Mediterranean, especially in the first half of the month. In the second half of the month, some desert low pressure areas passed over the Maltese Islands, but these were rather weak and only contributed to some light rain showers.
With a mean temperature of 17.5 degrees, April 2006 was also the warmest on record, together with April 1998, which also had a mean on 17.5 degrees. The mean temperature of the month was almost 1 degree warmer than the average of 16.6 degrees.
The warmest day last month was the 17th with a high of 28.9 degrees, and the coolest night was that between the 4th and the 5th when the thermometer dipped to 10.3 degrees.
On the 25th, gusts of 90.7km/h were measured in Mellieha on the 25th, while on the 18th, gusts of 72.2km/h and 75.6km/h were measured at Msida and Nadur respectively.
Hottest May day ever!
May was sunnier, warmer and drier than average. With a mean temperature of 21.4°C, the month was 1.0°C warmer than the average May. Indeed, May 23, with the highest temperature reaching 37.3°C, was the warmest May day on record.
At just 0.8mm, last month was one of the driest months, although not the driest on record. The average rainfall for May is 10.2mm.
On 23rd May 2006 the maximum temperature at Balzan managed to beat the previous day's record temperature to make it the hottest day ever for May since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987. The maximum temperature was 37.3 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees higher than the previous day. This means that this was the hottest day ever for May – and what is also SPECIAL is that the hottest temperature for May was broken on 2 consecutive days. Such extremes of weather can be indicative of a changing climate!
This high temperature was an effect of the same high pressure system that has been lingered over the central Mediterranean for several days. On this day, the Maltese Islands were on the eastern side of this upper ridge of high pressure – this is a very good scenario for heat waves.
However, what was different from the previous day is that the winds on this day were rather light and variable, which meant that most locations in the Maltese Islands were affected by these very hot and dry weather, as can be seen below:
Balzan – 37.3 degrees, Msida – 37.4 degrees, Rabat – 36.9 degrees, Mellieha – 35.6 degrees, Nadur – 33.6 degrees, Victoria – 33.5 degrees.
Long heat wave in last 2 weeks of June
The weather in June was characterised by longer than usual heat waves.
A high temperature episode lasted for five days between the 20th and the 24th, with daily maximum temperatures averaging 35°C. Another one lasting four days with even higher temperatures followed soon after.
With a mean monthly temperature of 24.5°C, last month was exactly the average temperature for June. However, the first half of June contrasted sharply with the second half. Whereas the former had maximum temperatures ranging from 20°C to 26°C, the second half of the month saw maximum temperatures ranging from 30°C to 37°C.
The highest temperature last month was 37.1 °C recorded on the 23rd of the month. The highest June temperature ever recorded at Balzan by Malta Weather Services was 39.8°C on 13th June 1997.
The nights in June with an average temperature of 20.4°C were very close to what one would expect. The warmest was the night of 22nd/23rd June with 27.1°C while the coolest was that of 5th/6th June when the thermometer dropped to 15.1°C. However, the coolest June night on record was in June 1990 when the thermometer dipped to 14.8°C.
June is usually quite a dry month with an average rainfall of 2.6 mm. Last month a total of 2.5 mm were measured at Balzan, practically all of which was deposited during a couple of showers around 1 a.m. on June 3. The wettest June on record was in 2003 with 28.9 mm of rainfall.
The wind at was generally on the slack side with an average speed of 10.4 kilometres per hour) at Zebbug Malta. The most frequent direction was westerly and the strongest gust was 55.5 kilometres per hour) from the Northwest on 1st June. However, there were higher gusts of 66.7 kilometres per hour and 64.8 kilometres per hour at Mellieha and Nadur respectively.
Warm nights and warm sea in July
The sizzling heat of the summer months made itself felt during the month of July, with an average temperature of 24.0 degrees Celsius during the night that was over a degree warmer than the average at Balzan since temperature records began in 1987.
The average temperature during the day was 30.9 deg C, which was however 0.7 degrees cooler than the monthly average at Balzan.
The high averages also had an effect on the sea surrounding the Maltese islands, as its average temperature of 26.3 deg C was almost two degrees higher than normal. Since 1978, the sea temperature was only higher in July 2003.
The temperatures during the day did not rise to unbearable heights due to sea breezes that resulted from cold air which entered into the upper reaches of the atmosphere of the central Mediterranean, rendering weather in the area rather unstable. This in fact produced two local thunderstorms, one a light one in the Rabat/Dingli area on the 10th and another, a much stronger one with rainfall of 46.0mm at Marsascala on the 19th! This storm also produced a waterspout for about 10 minutes over St Thomas Bay. For a full report of this storm please visit http://www.maltastorms.com/.
More warm nights in August
August was again characterised by warmer-than-average nights with the mean monthly minimum temperature of 23.8°C being 0.3°C above normal, ever since temperature records began in Balzan in 1987. The mean monthly maximum of 30.4°C was 1.4°C below normal. The strongest gust was 64.8km/h or 35 knots at Zebbug on 5th August. The highest temperature was 38.3°C measured on 20th and 21st August and the coolest night last August was 20.9°C on 10th August.
A total of 8.6 mm of rain fell at Balzan on 9th August with the average rainfall for the whole month being 7.1 mm.
Coldest September ever
The average maximum temperature of 27.2°C for September was the coldest ever since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987. In fact it was below the average maximum temperature by 1.4°C. On the other hand, given a mean of 21.5°C, the nights were exactly average.
The warmest days last month were the 8th and the 9th when the temperature at Balzan climbed to 30.8°C and the coolest were the 3 consecutive nights from 22nd to 24th September with a low of 19.1°C.
The hottest September days noted since Balzan Weather Station started keeping temperature records in 1987, were in September 1992 when a temperature of 39.2°C was reached, and the coolest September night was in September 2004 with a minimum of 15.4°C.
A total of 37.8 mm of rain fell last month at Balzan with the wettest day being the 12th with 18.8 mm - the average rainfall in September being 68.5 mm. The wettest September was in 2003 with 390.3 mm and the driest was in 1992, a completely dry month.
Thunder was heard on five days last month, which is exactly the average. The stormiest September was that of 1997 with 12 days followed by that of 2003 with 11 thunderstorm days.
The wind last month was quite lively with one in five days being in the moderate to rather strong speed bracket. The average speed at Zebbug Weather Station was (10.4 km/h and the most frequent direction was the northwest. On the 16th, Malta experienced the strongest gust of the month, 64.8 km/h from the WNW.
Average October
October 2006 was a normal month with the mean monthly temperature of 22.1°C being exactly the average one would expect for October. However, October nights, with a mean minimum temperature of 19.1°C, were 0.5°C warmer than the average at Balzan since temperature records began in 1987.
The warmest night last month was that of the 4th with the thermometer showing 23.6°C at its lowest point. The 18th night of the month was the coolest, as the mercury crept down to 16.1°C.
The chilliest October night was that of 1996 when at dawn of the 29th the temperature dropped to just 11.3°C.
The average 25.0°C daytime temperatures last month were actually slightly cooler than those since 1987. The October with the coolest days on record was that of 1996 with an average maximum temperature of 23.2°C. The October with the warmest days was in 1990, with an average high of 27.6°C.
The highest temperature for October was 30.1°C on the 25th of the month. The hottest October day on record was that of 27th October 1999 with a sweltering 33.5°C.
Last month, 82.5 mm of rainfall was measured at Balzan - 14.0 mm more than the average. The wettest October since 1985 was that of 1994 when 233.0 mm drenched the Maltese Islands.
On seven of the last 10 days of the month copious amounts of mist formed, lowering visibility to 50 metres on one occasion.
Severe Thunderstorm
On 6th October 2006 an isolated thunderstorm moving in from the northwest affected the Maltese Islands, especially Gozo, where heavy rain caused severe flooding and an unconfirmed tornado at Xlendi. An unconfirmed tornado was also reported at Golden Bay, while 1cm hail was reported at Qrendi. Winds were very strong during this storm with a gust of 107km/h (57 knots) at Mellieha at around 4.10pm. The unconfirmed brief tornado at Xlendi uprooted some trees and brought down a few rubble walls. The small sandy beach at Xlendi was also practically washed away by the floodwaters. The heaviest rainfall was reported in Zebbug 86.2mm, Marsalforn 54.0mm, Victoria 41.0mm and Sannat 34.4mm. A relatively weak dry line oriented southwest-northeast was present together with a lifted index of -6.6 and a CAPE of over 2000J/kg. The hodograph was oriented southwest-northeast too indicating that a good wind shear was present.
Dry November
November 2006 was a very dry month with rainfall at Balzan being only 49% of the average. In fact, only 57.2mm of rain were measured in November when compared to the average of 116.4mm.
The mean monthly temperature of 17.6°C was a bit below the average one would expect for November. The warmest night in November was that of the 2nd with the thermometer showing 20.4°C at its lowest point. The 12th night of the month was the coolest, as the mercury crept down to 11.1°C.
The chilliest November night was that of 1996 when at dawn of the 23rd the temperature dropped to just 5.7°C and the grass minimum to -0.9°C!
The average 20.3°C daytime temperatures last month were cooler than those since 1987 by 0.7°C. The November with the coolest days on record was that of 1998 with an average maximum temperature of 19.3°C. The October with the warmest days was in 1992, with an average high of 22.9°C.
The highest temperature for November was 23.4°C on the 2nd of the month. The hottest November day on record was that of 1st November 1990 with a sweltering 28.9°C.
For the latest forecasts, weather reports and archives see MaltaWeather.com
by Mark Vella Gera
Very wet and cold January
2006 opened with the wettest January for at least 20 years since rainfall records began at Balzan in 1985, Malta Weather Services reported. With a total of 222.4mm, the rainfall was above the average by 129.3mm or more than double the mean January rainfall of 93.1mm! The previous wettest January since 1985 was 210.7mm in January 1992.There were 23 days of rain during January – this was also another record beating the previous record of 20 days of rain in 2000 by 3 days. The heaviest downpour occurred on the 9th with a total of 55.5 mm. There were also 16 days with thunderstorms and 11 days with hail, both values being the highest ever for any month of the year since at least 1985!
January 2006, with a mean temperature of 11.6°C, was the second coldest January since 1987 and was cooler by 1.5 degrees Celsius, than the average of the past 18 years. Besides, the mean maximum temperature for January 2006 of just 13.8 degrees Celsius was the lowest ever since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987!
The coldest day in January was on the 24th with a high of just 10.6 degrees, while the coldest nights were on the 24th and 26th with lows of just 4.7 degrees! There was also a low of only 4.0 degrees at the Airport on the 25th. The warmest day in January was on the 29th with a high of only 16.8 degrees. This was almost 3 degrees below the mean of 19.6 degrees. The warmest January day on record occurred on 28th January 1988 with a balmy 22.2 degrees. The coldest January night ever was on 7th January 2002 with 3.9 degrees.
All this wet and cold weather was the result of various low pressure systems and their associated warm/cold fronts passing over or forming close to the central Mediterranean, bringing cold air from central Europe and Siberia which contrasted with the warmer air over the Mediterranean, thereby resulting in heavy downpours on more than one occasion in January. Other days had rainfall due to upper-level troughs forming over or extending to the central Mediterranean.
It was extremely windy late evening on the last day of the month, with highest gusts from a northeasterly direction registered at the Airport 43 knots, Rabat 38 knots, Msida 41 knots, Nadur 44 knots, Victoria 37 knots and Mellieha an extremely high gust of 50 knots (Force 10). Winds were even stronger in the early hours of 1st February.
A cold February too
With a mean temperature of 12.6°C, January was colder, by 0.3°C, than the average at Balzan. The coldest February, since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987, was in 2003 with an average temperature of 10.8°C.February 7th was the coldest February day ever since records began in 1987 when the temperature just made it to 8.7°C. Last month's nights, with a mean temperature of 10.5°C, were however warmer than the average by 0.7°C, with the coldest night being that of the 15th, when the mercury plunged to 4.9°C. But the coldest night on record was that of 1st February 1999, when the thermometer plunged to 2.6°C.
The weather station at Balzan also keeps a daily record of the lowest temperature at grass height level, a few centimetres above the ground. The coldest it got, down there last month, was 1.4°C (that is more than one degree below freezing) - and that was on February 15th.
With a total of only 63.0mm, rainfall was practically what would normally be expected for the month. However, rainfall in February is, generally speaking, quite erratic, in that months of plenty are often followed by lean months. The highest amount, last month, 29.7mm, occurred on the afternoon and evening of February 23.
The day before that, a deep depression, or low pressure system, developed in the Algerian desert. This moved quite rapidly eastwards towards southern Tunisia, increasing in strength, forming rain bearing clouds and raising enormous sandstorms over much of the western part of North Africa. It then turned north-eastwards passing slightly to the north of the Maltese Islands around noon of February 23.
Another cold month!
March 2006 was another colder-than-average month - in fact, it was cooler by 0.4 degrees when compared to the average since 1987 at Balzan. Last month's mean temperature was 14.1°C, while the average is 14.5°C. The warmest March, since 1987, was that of 2001 with 17.1°C and the coolest was 2003's with a mean of 13.1°C.The warmest day was on the 28th with 21.6°C. The warmest March day since 1987 was that of 2001 when on the 25th it reached a high of 33.5°C.
March nights were just about average, with the lowest temperature, 6.6°C, reached shortly before dawn of the 13th and the 16th. However, 9th March 1993, with a low of 4.8°C, is the coldest March night on record.
Our weather station at Balzan also keeps a daily record of the lowest temperature at grass height level, a few centimetres above the ground. The coldest it got, down there, in March, was just 0.8°C - on 16th March.
With a total of only 30.0 mm of rainfall, last month was 5.1 mm below the average for the month. The average rainfall since 1985 at Balzan is 35.1mm. The wettest March on record was that of 1996 when a total of 125 mm drenched the islands; the driest was that of 2000 with only 4.7 mm of rain.
The highest gust, recorded on the night between the 11th and the 12th, was 40 knots (74.4 km/h) from a west southwesterly direction. However, at Mellieha, the highest gust on that night was of 57 knots (105.5 km/h) from a northwesterly direction. The most frequent direction last month was the westnorthwesterly.
One of the driest and warmest Aprils on record
April 2006 was the driest April since records started being kept at Balzan in 1985. In fact, only 0.6mm or rainfall was measured last month, compared to the average of 27.3mm. The previous driest April was in 1993 with 2.1mm.This was because April 2006 was dominated by relatively high pressure over the central Mediterranean, especially in the first half of the month. In the second half of the month, some desert low pressure areas passed over the Maltese Islands, but these were rather weak and only contributed to some light rain showers.
With a mean temperature of 17.5 degrees, April 2006 was also the warmest on record, together with April 1998, which also had a mean on 17.5 degrees. The mean temperature of the month was almost 1 degree warmer than the average of 16.6 degrees.
The warmest day last month was the 17th with a high of 28.9 degrees, and the coolest night was that between the 4th and the 5th when the thermometer dipped to 10.3 degrees.
On the 25th, gusts of 90.7km/h were measured in Mellieha on the 25th, while on the 18th, gusts of 72.2km/h and 75.6km/h were measured at Msida and Nadur respectively.
Hottest May day ever!
May was sunnier, warmer and drier than average. With a mean temperature of 21.4°C, the month was 1.0°C warmer than the average May. Indeed, May 23, with the highest temperature reaching 37.3°C, was the warmest May day on record.
At just 0.8mm, last month was one of the driest months, although not the driest on record. The average rainfall for May is 10.2mm.
On 23rd May 2006 the maximum temperature at Balzan managed to beat the previous day's record temperature to make it the hottest day ever for May since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987. The maximum temperature was 37.3 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees higher than the previous day. This means that this was the hottest day ever for May – and what is also SPECIAL is that the hottest temperature for May was broken on 2 consecutive days. Such extremes of weather can be indicative of a changing climate!
This high temperature was an effect of the same high pressure system that has been lingered over the central Mediterranean for several days. On this day, the Maltese Islands were on the eastern side of this upper ridge of high pressure – this is a very good scenario for heat waves.
However, what was different from the previous day is that the winds on this day were rather light and variable, which meant that most locations in the Maltese Islands were affected by these very hot and dry weather, as can be seen below:
Balzan – 37.3 degrees, Msida – 37.4 degrees, Rabat – 36.9 degrees, Mellieha – 35.6 degrees, Nadur – 33.6 degrees, Victoria – 33.5 degrees.
Long heat wave in last 2 weeks of June
The weather in June was characterised by longer than usual heat waves.A high temperature episode lasted for five days between the 20th and the 24th, with daily maximum temperatures averaging 35°C. Another one lasting four days with even higher temperatures followed soon after.
With a mean monthly temperature of 24.5°C, last month was exactly the average temperature for June. However, the first half of June contrasted sharply with the second half. Whereas the former had maximum temperatures ranging from 20°C to 26°C, the second half of the month saw maximum temperatures ranging from 30°C to 37°C.
The highest temperature last month was 37.1 °C recorded on the 23rd of the month. The highest June temperature ever recorded at Balzan by Malta Weather Services was 39.8°C on 13th June 1997.
The nights in June with an average temperature of 20.4°C were very close to what one would expect. The warmest was the night of 22nd/23rd June with 27.1°C while the coolest was that of 5th/6th June when the thermometer dropped to 15.1°C. However, the coolest June night on record was in June 1990 when the thermometer dipped to 14.8°C.
June is usually quite a dry month with an average rainfall of 2.6 mm. Last month a total of 2.5 mm were measured at Balzan, practically all of which was deposited during a couple of showers around 1 a.m. on June 3. The wettest June on record was in 2003 with 28.9 mm of rainfall.
The wind at was generally on the slack side with an average speed of 10.4 kilometres per hour) at Zebbug Malta. The most frequent direction was westerly and the strongest gust was 55.5 kilometres per hour) from the Northwest on 1st June. However, there were higher gusts of 66.7 kilometres per hour and 64.8 kilometres per hour at Mellieha and Nadur respectively.
Warm nights and warm sea in July
The sizzling heat of the summer months made itself felt during the month of July, with an average temperature of 24.0 degrees Celsius during the night that was over a degree warmer than the average at Balzan since temperature records began in 1987.The average temperature during the day was 30.9 deg C, which was however 0.7 degrees cooler than the monthly average at Balzan.
The high averages also had an effect on the sea surrounding the Maltese islands, as its average temperature of 26.3 deg C was almost two degrees higher than normal. Since 1978, the sea temperature was only higher in July 2003.
The temperatures during the day did not rise to unbearable heights due to sea breezes that resulted from cold air which entered into the upper reaches of the atmosphere of the central Mediterranean, rendering weather in the area rather unstable. This in fact produced two local thunderstorms, one a light one in the Rabat/Dingli area on the 10th and another, a much stronger one with rainfall of 46.0mm at Marsascala on the 19th! This storm also produced a waterspout for about 10 minutes over St Thomas Bay. For a full report of this storm please visit http://www.maltastorms.com/.
More warm nights in August
August was again characterised by warmer-than-average nights with the mean monthly minimum temperature of 23.8°C being 0.3°C above normal, ever since temperature records began in Balzan in 1987. The mean monthly maximum of 30.4°C was 1.4°C below normal. The strongest gust was 64.8km/h or 35 knots at Zebbug on 5th August. The highest temperature was 38.3°C measured on 20th and 21st August and the coolest night last August was 20.9°C on 10th August.
A total of 8.6 mm of rain fell at Balzan on 9th August with the average rainfall for the whole month being 7.1 mm.
Coldest September ever
The average maximum temperature of 27.2°C for September was the coldest ever since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987. In fact it was below the average maximum temperature by 1.4°C. On the other hand, given a mean of 21.5°C, the nights were exactly average.
The warmest days last month were the 8th and the 9th when the temperature at Balzan climbed to 30.8°C and the coolest were the 3 consecutive nights from 22nd to 24th September with a low of 19.1°C.
The hottest September days noted since Balzan Weather Station started keeping temperature records in 1987, were in September 1992 when a temperature of 39.2°C was reached, and the coolest September night was in September 2004 with a minimum of 15.4°C.
A total of 37.8 mm of rain fell last month at Balzan with the wettest day being the 12th with 18.8 mm - the average rainfall in September being 68.5 mm. The wettest September was in 2003 with 390.3 mm and the driest was in 1992, a completely dry month.
Thunder was heard on five days last month, which is exactly the average. The stormiest September was that of 1997 with 12 days followed by that of 2003 with 11 thunderstorm days.
The wind last month was quite lively with one in five days being in the moderate to rather strong speed bracket. The average speed at Zebbug Weather Station was (10.4 km/h and the most frequent direction was the northwest. On the 16th, Malta experienced the strongest gust of the month, 64.8 km/h from the WNW.
Average October
October 2006 was a normal month with the mean monthly temperature of 22.1°C being exactly the average one would expect for October. However, October nights, with a mean minimum temperature of 19.1°C, were 0.5°C warmer than the average at Balzan since temperature records began in 1987.The warmest night last month was that of the 4th with the thermometer showing 23.6°C at its lowest point. The 18th night of the month was the coolest, as the mercury crept down to 16.1°C.
The chilliest October night was that of 1996 when at dawn of the 29th the temperature dropped to just 11.3°C.
The average 25.0°C daytime temperatures last month were actually slightly cooler than those since 1987. The October with the coolest days on record was that of 1996 with an average maximum temperature of 23.2°C. The October with the warmest days was in 1990, with an average high of 27.6°C.
The highest temperature for October was 30.1°C on the 25th of the month. The hottest October day on record was that of 27th October 1999 with a sweltering 33.5°C.
Last month, 82.5 mm of rainfall was measured at Balzan - 14.0 mm more than the average. The wettest October since 1985 was that of 1994 when 233.0 mm drenched the Maltese Islands.
On seven of the last 10 days of the month copious amounts of mist formed, lowering visibility to 50 metres on one occasion.
Severe Thunderstorm
On 6th October 2006 an isolated thunderstorm moving in from the northwest affected the Maltese Islands, especially Gozo, where heavy rain caused severe flooding and an unconfirmed tornado at Xlendi. An unconfirmed tornado was also reported at Golden Bay, while 1cm hail was reported at Qrendi. Winds were very strong during this storm with a gust of 107km/h (57 knots) at Mellieha at around 4.10pm. The unconfirmed brief tornado at Xlendi uprooted some trees and brought down a few rubble walls. The small sandy beach at Xlendi was also practically washed away by the floodwaters. The heaviest rainfall was reported in Zebbug 86.2mm, Marsalforn 54.0mm, Victoria 41.0mm and Sannat 34.4mm. A relatively weak dry line oriented southwest-northeast was present together with a lifted index of -6.6 and a CAPE of over 2000J/kg. The hodograph was oriented southwest-northeast too indicating that a good wind shear was present.
Dry November
November 2006 was a very dry month with rainfall at Balzan being only 49% of the average. In fact, only 57.2mm of rain were measured in November when compared to the average of 116.4mm.The mean monthly temperature of 17.6°C was a bit below the average one would expect for November. The warmest night in November was that of the 2nd with the thermometer showing 20.4°C at its lowest point. The 12th night of the month was the coolest, as the mercury crept down to 11.1°C.
The chilliest November night was that of 1996 when at dawn of the 23rd the temperature dropped to just 5.7°C and the grass minimum to -0.9°C!
The average 20.3°C daytime temperatures last month were cooler than those since 1987 by 0.7°C. The November with the coolest days on record was that of 1998 with an average maximum temperature of 19.3°C. The October with the warmest days was in 1992, with an average high of 22.9°C.
The highest temperature for November was 23.4°C on the 2nd of the month. The hottest November day on record was that of 1st November 1990 with a sweltering 28.9°C.
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