The Met Office confirmed on Thursday that October was significantly drier than usual. 

It was also calmer than the norm, and slightly warmer.

The MIA office said total sunshine exceeded the climate norm of 217.7 hours by just over 51 hours.  

October only had one thunderstorm, when 18.4 mm of rain were measured at the Met Office in Luqa.

Having produced just 18.6 mm of precipitation, October was significantly drier than the climate norm, which stands at 77.6 mm of rainfall. Last October’s rainfall was similar to October 1944 (19.3 mm), 1987 (19.2 mm) and 2004 (19.8 mm), and put the month as the tenth driest October on the Meteorological Office’s records.

A persistent ridge of high pressure ensured that 17 days in October were warmed than the norm, with the month’s mean maximum temperature exceeding the climate norm of 25.0°C by 0.4°C.  While October’s maximum temperature peaked at 28.6°C, the minimum temperature dipped to 15.7°C on two consecutive days.

October was also a much calmer month than expected at this time of year, with the wind speed averaging 5.9 knots rather than the norm of 7.4 knots. October’s maximum wind gust measured 33 knots and blew from the Northwest.