September was warmer, wetter and had more thunderstorms than average
Wettest day produced nearly a month’s worth of rain
September was warmer, wetter and had more thunderstorms than usual, according to the Meteorological Office.
Its monthly weather recap found that there were nine days of thunderstorms - five more than expected at this time of year.
But the storms were punctuated by 236.1 hours of sun with the sunniest day recording 11.4 hours of sunshine, falling in the middle of a 11-day stretch of seven thunderstorms.
More than a month's rain fell on the wettest day - September 12 - when 52.8mm of rain was collected.
The bad weather led to power cuts, flooded roads and a forced a flight to be diverted to Sicily.
Overall, both the average air and sea temperatures were warmer than expected, with the former surpassing the norm of 24.7°C by 0.9°C and the latter exceeding the norm of 25.5°C by 2.2°C.
The warmest day was on the 23rd, when temperatures reached 32.1°C, while the coolest day was on the 27th, when the mercury dipped to a low of 17.6°C.
Given that the precipitation quota for September is 58.1 mm, the 52.8 mm of precipitation collected on September’s wettest day, the 12th, almost amounted to a month’s worth of rain.
During the month, a mean wind speed of eight knots was maintained, surpassing the climatic norm by 0.9 knots. A maximum gust of 38 knots blowing from a west by north-west direction was measured on the 26th.