2008: Weather in the Maltese Islands
by Meteo Malta
Cold and dry Winter
Following 2007’s very dry and warm January, January 2008 was also warm and very dry although not as warm or as dry. The average mean was of 13.9°C - this is 0.8°C higher than the average of 13.1°C. The mean maximum of 16.3°C was only 0.2°C above average. However, the mean minimum temperature of 11.5°C was 1.4°C above average.
January 2008 was also a very dry month with only 21.9mm of rainfall at Balzan, compared to the average of 92.4mm, although there were 12 days of rain.
Weather phenomena of note were a brief tornado on the 18th of the month and a strong gregale wind on the 24th which caused lots of damage to boats on the northeastern coast of Malta.
February 2008 was a cold month and, temperature-wise, was very much different to January. The mean monthly temperature of 12.4°C was 0.6°C below the average since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987.
The coldest night in February, when the air temperature plummeted to a chilly 3.1°C. The coldest day was 17th February when the maximum temperature only rose to 7.9°C. This was the coldest day ever recorded for any month at Balzan since temperature records began in 1987.
Hail fell on 3 days with some places getting a thick carpet of small hail which took hours to melt. There were also 4 days with thunderstorms. A total of 44.5 millimetres of rain fell during the month.
March 2008 turned out to be a dry month with only 15.0mm of rain at Balzan compared to the average of 36.2mm. This was only 41% of the average. There were only 8 days of rain and the highest 24 hour rain total was just 5.0mm.
Temperature-wise, March 2008 was just slightly warmer than the average, with the mean monthly temperature of 14.8°C being 0.3°C above average.
Normal Spring
April was a rather dry April with 21.7 mm of rainfall. This was about 5mm below average. Most of this rainfall was concentrated on the 1st day of the month with 16.3mm.
With a mean temperature of 17.4°C, it was just 0.1°C cooler than the warmest April ever on record. The warmest day last month was the 11th with a high of 31.7°C. This was the warmest ever April day on record. However, the coolest it got last month was early before dawn on the 5th of the month when the thermometer dropped to 10.3°C.
May was an average month with a mean temperature of 20.4°C but no weather records were broken. Rainfall was on the low side with only 2.5mm of rain recorded at Balzan compared to the average of 9.8mm.
June was also an average month with a mean temperature of 24.3°C only slightly below the average of 24.5°C. Again, like last May this is a normal trend of global warming with nights being substantially warmer than normal. The warmest day last month was on the last day of the month, when the thermometer at Balzan reached 33.2°C.
Rainfall was obviously on the low side with only 1.4mm of rain recorded at Balzan compared to the average of 5.8mm.
Warmer start and end of Summer
The warmest day was the 8th when the thermometer at our Balzan site reached 37.3°C. However, the mean air temperature of last July was 27.8°C which is 0.6°C warmer than the July norm recorded for the past 21 years.
There was obviously no rain in July, which is perfectly normal.
August was cooler than average with a mean air temperature just 0.1°C lower than the average for August ever since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987. The mean maximum temperature recorded was 0.3°C less than the norm with the mean minimum temperature warmer by 0.2°C. The warmest day last month was on the 8th when the thermometer at Balzan site reached 35.5°C.No rain was registered throughout the whole month.
Rainfall over Malta was below the average in September since rainfall records began at Balzan in 1985, but it was also slightly warmer. It is reported that 36.9mm of rain fell at Balzan, which was less than the average rainfall of 65.8 mm.
With an average temperature of 25.3°C, September days were slightly warmer by 0.3°C than the monthly average since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987. As to extremes, the highest maximum temperature of 35.9°C was recorded on September 8th.
A short-lived waterspout was also seen to the southeast of Malta at around 8.45am on the 28th September.
A wetter Autumn
The average temperature in October was 21.5°C, which was 0.5°C cooler than the recorded average since temperature records began in Balzan in 1987.
The lowest temperature last month was 15.5C recorded on the 6th. A total of 90.5 mm of rain fell last month at Balzan, which was more than the mean October rainfall of 70.7 mm. Practically half of this rainfall fell on just one day!
There were 8 days with thunderstorms, 3 days more that the average number of thunderstorm events experienced during the month of October since rainfall records began at Balzan in 1985.
November 2008 was slightly warmer but wetter than usual. There were a record 11 days with thunderstorms, 6 more than usual for November. The previous stormiest November was that of 2003 with 9 thunderstorm days, but November 2008 broke this record with 2 more days for a total of 11 stormy days. There were also 3 days of hail last month which is normal for this time of the year.
Rainfall amounted to 140.3 mm which was more than the average November mean by 24.2 mm. A mean temperature of 18.5oC was recorded, which was slightly warmer than the average November mean since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987.
For the latest forecasts, weather reports and archives see MaltaWeather.com
by Meteo Malta
Cold and dry Winter
Following 2007’s very dry and warm January, January 2008 was also warm and very dry although not as warm or as dry. The average mean was of 13.9°C - this is 0.8°C higher than the average of 13.1°C. The mean maximum of 16.3°C was only 0.2°C above average. However, the mean minimum temperature of 11.5°C was 1.4°C above average.
January 2008 was also a very dry month with only 21.9mm of rainfall at Balzan, compared to the average of 92.4mm, although there were 12 days of rain.
Weather phenomena of note were a brief tornado on the 18th of the month and a strong gregale wind on the 24th which caused lots of damage to boats on the northeastern coast of Malta.
February 2008 was a cold month and, temperature-wise, was very much different to January. The mean monthly temperature of 12.4°C was 0.6°C below the average since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987.
The coldest night in February, when the air temperature plummeted to a chilly 3.1°C. The coldest day was 17th February when the maximum temperature only rose to 7.9°C. This was the coldest day ever recorded for any month at Balzan since temperature records began in 1987.
Hail fell on 3 days with some places getting a thick carpet of small hail which took hours to melt. There were also 4 days with thunderstorms. A total of 44.5 millimetres of rain fell during the month.
March 2008 turned out to be a dry month with only 15.0mm of rain at Balzan compared to the average of 36.2mm. This was only 41% of the average. There were only 8 days of rain and the highest 24 hour rain total was just 5.0mm.
Temperature-wise, March 2008 was just slightly warmer than the average, with the mean monthly temperature of 14.8°C being 0.3°C above average.
Normal Spring
April was a rather dry April with 21.7 mm of rainfall. This was about 5mm below average. Most of this rainfall was concentrated on the 1st day of the month with 16.3mm.
With a mean temperature of 17.4°C, it was just 0.1°C cooler than the warmest April ever on record. The warmest day last month was the 11th with a high of 31.7°C. This was the warmest ever April day on record. However, the coolest it got last month was early before dawn on the 5th of the month when the thermometer dropped to 10.3°C.
May was an average month with a mean temperature of 20.4°C but no weather records were broken. Rainfall was on the low side with only 2.5mm of rain recorded at Balzan compared to the average of 9.8mm.
June was also an average month with a mean temperature of 24.3°C only slightly below the average of 24.5°C. Again, like last May this is a normal trend of global warming with nights being substantially warmer than normal. The warmest day last month was on the last day of the month, when the thermometer at Balzan reached 33.2°C.
Rainfall was obviously on the low side with only 1.4mm of rain recorded at Balzan compared to the average of 5.8mm.
Warmer start and end of Summer
The warmest day was the 8th when the thermometer at our Balzan site reached 37.3°C. However, the mean air temperature of last July was 27.8°C which is 0.6°C warmer than the July norm recorded for the past 21 years.
There was obviously no rain in July, which is perfectly normal.
August was cooler than average with a mean air temperature just 0.1°C lower than the average for August ever since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987. The mean maximum temperature recorded was 0.3°C less than the norm with the mean minimum temperature warmer by 0.2°C. The warmest day last month was on the 8th when the thermometer at Balzan site reached 35.5°C.No rain was registered throughout the whole month.
Rainfall over Malta was below the average in September since rainfall records began at Balzan in 1985, but it was also slightly warmer. It is reported that 36.9mm of rain fell at Balzan, which was less than the average rainfall of 65.8 mm.
With an average temperature of 25.3°C, September days were slightly warmer by 0.3°C than the monthly average since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987. As to extremes, the highest maximum temperature of 35.9°C was recorded on September 8th.
A short-lived waterspout was also seen to the southeast of Malta at around 8.45am on the 28th September.
A wetter Autumn
The average temperature in October was 21.5°C, which was 0.5°C cooler than the recorded average since temperature records began in Balzan in 1987.
The lowest temperature last month was 15.5C recorded on the 6th. A total of 90.5 mm of rain fell last month at Balzan, which was more than the mean October rainfall of 70.7 mm. Practically half of this rainfall fell on just one day!
There were 8 days with thunderstorms, 3 days more that the average number of thunderstorm events experienced during the month of October since rainfall records began at Balzan in 1985.
November 2008 was slightly warmer but wetter than usual. There were a record 11 days with thunderstorms, 6 more than usual for November. The previous stormiest November was that of 2003 with 9 thunderstorm days, but November 2008 broke this record with 2 more days for a total of 11 stormy days. There were also 3 days of hail last month which is normal for this time of the year.
Rainfall amounted to 140.3 mm which was more than the average November mean by 24.2 mm. A mean temperature of 18.5oC was recorded, which was slightly warmer than the average November mean since temperature records began at Balzan in 1987.
For the latest forecasts, weather reports and archives see MaltaWeather.com