Widespread hail as February gripped by cold

A hailstorm took Malta by surprise yesterday afternoon, covering some areas with a carpet of white and forcing a number of drivers to stop because of the lack of visibility.

University students even built a tiny snowman on campus and pupils at some schools left their classrooms to witness the unusual sight.

In some areas, hail had still not melted a couple of hours after the midday storm.

John Darmanin, the forecaster on duty at the Malta International Airport's Met Office, explained that hail could materialise even in warmer temperatures when the frozen drops of water do not melt during precipitation. Snow, on the other hand, only happens when the temperature is zero degrees Celsius or below.

In Birkirkara, the temperature at around midday was 6.3°C, which was described by Mr Darmanin as cold for that time of day.

While last month was the coldest January in 24 years, this month has the potential to be among the coldest Februaries. Mr Darmanin said the mean temperature for the first 16 days stood at 10.2°C and the lowest mean temperature for February was 9.9°C, registered in both 1929 and 1965. These were the only times that the mean temperature for February was below 10.2°C.

However, Mr Darmanin said that although this February seems to rank among the coldest so far, the temperature in the coming days could go up.

He said that although it was not out of the ordinary to have cold spells during this time of year, this one was a bit prolonged, making people think that this winter was one of the coldest ever.

Mr Darmanin said the low temperature was expected to continue until tomorrow but the mercury might start creeping up on Sunday, although it is expected to be windy.

Today the highest temperature is forecast to hit 12°C with the lowest during the night to stand at 6°C. Showers are forecast up to Sunday.