November wetter, cooler than usual

A total of 148.6 millimetres of rain was recorded at Malta's only official rain gauge, that at the Meteorological Office of Malta International Airport, during November when rain fell on more than half the days in that month, the Meteorological Office said.

This rainfall amounts to 51 per cent more than the average in November.

The night between November 2-3 had the heaviest rainfall of the month, with 73.2 millimetres.

The Met Office said that such heavy downpours were not exceptional in November, however they seemed to be occurring more frequently in the last 20 years.

The wettest November day since records began being kept by the Meteorological Office at the airport in 1947 was November 10, 1988 with a total of 162.5 millimetres.

The wettest November was that of 1999 with 420.3 millimetres of rainfall - the driest was that of 1970, with just 2.6 mm.

The Met Office said thunderstorms last month were observed on 10 separate days, twice the average for the month, making it the most active November in the past 18 years. According to the records, with 14 thunderstorm days, December 1983 was the most active.

The average temperature last month was 16.8 °C - the coolest in nine years and considerably cooler, by 0.6 of a degree, than the average temperature of the past 30 years.

The warmest day was the first day of the month at 26.8°C and the coolest night was that between the 26th and 27th when the temperature dropped to 8.9°C.

The warmest November day since 1947 was that of the year 2000, on the 19th, with a high of 28.7°C, while the coolest November night on record was that of 1995, when on the 23rd a low of 5°C was recorded.

Last month was characterised by the diversity of the weather systems that passed in the vicinity. Various low pressure systems formed over North Africa, especially in the first days of November, subsequently migrating towards the central Mediterranean and producing the bulk of the rainfall.

However, other depressions that formed in the northern Mediterranean during the month resulted in showery weather and cooler air masses from the northwest. On a few days an anticyclone sat on top of Malta, giving bright sunshine and very light winds.

It was quite a lively month in terms of the wind at Malta International Airport, when for 26 per cent of the time it was moderate to rather strong.

The average speed was 7.3 knots (8.4 mph or 13.5 kilometres per hour) and the most frequent direction was westerly.

The highest wind gust reached 37 knots (43 mph or 69 kilometres per hour) from a north westerly direction.

On average the Maltese islands had five hours and 36 minutes of sunshine a day - this works out at a total of nine hours of sunshine less than an average November.

The brightest day was November 22 with nine hours and 24 minutes of sunshine while November 9 and 12 shared the dubious honour of being the dullest, with just six minutes of sunshine each.

The Met Office pointed out that the National Weather Service of Malta, situated at the airport, issued the only official reports, forecasts and warnings.

www.maltairport.com/weather