Updated 1.15pm

August showers wet parts of Malta and Gozo on Wednesday, with rain forecast for the coming days and thunderstorms a possibility, according to the Meteorological Office.   

Parts of Gozo and north and western Malta saw downpours on Wednesday morning, with further showers expected in the afternoon, stretching through to the end of the working week. 

“The forecast showers for Wednesday are a result of convection over land around Malta. Showers are expected in the afternoon from the developing cumulus clouds. Similar weather conditions caused by convection can be currently observed on Italy and Sicily,” a Met Office spokesperson said.

For Thursday and Friday, the atmosphere over the Central Mediterranean is expected to remain unstable, therefore isolated showers are projected between late morning and early afternoon for the coming days.

“This kind of cloud cover and the weather that follows is typical for August, hence the għerejjex ta’ Santa Marija, where Stratocumulus clouds are triggered by convection and unstable air masses, which may develop into clouds that generate isolated showers, possibly becoming thundery thereafter,” the Met Office said.

Will it be a storm? 

With thunder looming on the horizon, some have raised the prospect of an August storm developing into a so-called 'medicane', or Mediterranean hurricane.

Medicanes are characterised by torrential rain and winds reaching speeds of up to 54 knots.

According to the Met Office, such claims are misplaced. 

“The current forecast unstable weather is unrelated to medicanes... While medicanes have occurred in the past (therefore the chances are never nil), tropical-like cyclones are a rare phenomenon for the Mediterranean. Such storms typically occur in autumn as cold air masses infiltrate over warm humid air, triggering instability due to high differences in temperature and pressure," the spokesperson said.

Will rising sea temperatures impact the weather?

Over the past weeks, Malta’s waters have heated up at a faster rate. This was the first year that Maltese waters reached 30C by the end of July. Such temperatures are usually reached later on, in August, marine biologist Alan Deidun had said.

Apart from the threat to the marine ecosystem, this may impact the way the weather behaves. According to the Met Office rising sea surface temperatures on a large scale may cause storms that develop over the sea to become more intense.