Three times the monthly rainfall hits Malta in a single day
May deluge caused by unstable weather but sunnier skies are forecast by Sunday
Thursday saw more than three times the monthly average of rain fall in less than 24 hours as the bad weather wreaked havoc across the island, causing a flight to be diverted, widespread traffic chaos, flooding in several areas and events to be cancelled.
A spokesperson for Malta Airport on Friday said that 36.3mm of rain fell across the Maltese Islands, more than three times the monthly average for May which stands at 10.3mm.
“These wet conditions were brought about by a low-pressure system that developed over Algeria and moved across the central Mediterranean, bringing unstable weather, including heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and strong winds,” the spokesperson said.
By the 3.40pm on Thursday a total of 17.6 mm of rain had been recorded at Luqa with the wind reaching maximum gusts of 33 knots.
However the weather is expected to start settling again, although isolated showers may still be expected on Friday. The wind will remain rather strong to strong from the West-Northwest, blowing at Force 5 to 6.
And it’s looking fairer for the weekend as cloudy conditions on Saturday morning are expected to clear later in the day with winds remaining moderate. On Sunday, and throughout the following days, sunny and stable weather is expected to return with maximum temperatures soaring above 26°C.
While April brought a mix of pleasant weather and occasional instability including a few days marked by a Saharan haze, the month was significantly drier than average with only 3.6 mm of rain recorded, marking a shortfall of 15.1 mm.
The record for Malta’s wettest April remains that of 1994 when the Meteorological Office recorded an impressive 118.4 mm of rainfall.