Large cloud formations over north of Malta bring promise of stray showers

Ready to cool down?

Today’s earlier rain shower – what the experts at Malta Weather say is a convectional shower – could bring with it some much-needed cooling down for the Maltese islands.

As things stand, the lower levels of the atmosphere right now are currently unstable, and the strong sunshine has triggered the formation of cumulus congestus clouds, Maltaweather.com reports.

These clouds have moved northwards due to a very light southerly wind triggering a rain shower over Xemxija and the St Paul’s Bay area.

“Contrary to our expectation it was briefly heavy over a very small area (on less than half of a football pitch) whilst the rest of the island remained hot and sunny. However, we were the only site to specifically predict the precise phenomena,” Maltaweather.com said in a Facebook post.

Expect similar weather tomorrow. With large cumulus clouds observed over the Maltese islands right now, Maltaweather’s tephigram indicates that the current clouds will not become cumulonimbus, but could just give a stray shower in spots.

The tephigran’s specialised software indicates some instability in the lower atmosphere  with the upper levels remaining stable and dry. Due to light winds and a slightly cooler air at an altitude of 1.5km, this will allow surface warm moist air to rise and form cumulus clouds until they reach an altitude of 3.3km before spreading out, becoming stratocumulus clouds – ruling out completely the possibility of heavy rain and thunderstorms.

“Indeed more summery hot and dry weather could be in the way for end August and beginning September,” Maltaweather.com says, “spilling summer to what should be the start of meteorological autumn.”