September was drier and warmer than average, despite three thunderstorms, the Met Office at Malta Airport said on Tuesday.

There were 18.4mm of rainfall last month, which did not measure up to the monthly precipitation quota of 58.1mm.

Averaging at 2.4 oktas, the cloud cover for September was slightly lower than the climate norm of 2.6 oktas. Total sunshine hours clocked during the month fell 8.7 hours short of the norm of 254.1 hours.

The month’s air temperature averaged at 26.3°C, surpassing the climate norm by 1.6°C. September’s lowest temperature was recorded on the ninth day at 20.0°C, coinciding with one of the three thunderstorms of the month. The month’s highest temperature of 34.0°C was reached 10 days later. The sea remained warm, with the average surface temperature losing one degree Celcius over August to stand at a higher-than-average 28.0°C.

September was slightly windier than expected, maintaining an average wind speed of 7.7 knots rather than the norm of 7.1 knots. On September 7 and 11, a maximum gust of 26 knots was recorded blowing from a northeasterly direction on the former day and from the northwest on the latter, the Met Office said. 

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