Strong wind and rain to persist over the weekend

Malta will continue to suffer the side-effects of the medicane centred on the Ionian Sea as strong wind and rain will persist over the weekend

29 October 2021, 10:54am
by Kurt Sansone

1 min read

Satellite image of the central Mediterranean taken at 9:30am on 29 October, showing the rain clouds forming over Sicily and Malta as the atmospheric depression moves towards the Ionian Sea (Photo: Eumetsat)

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Strong wind and rain will persist over the weekend as Malta remains under the influence of an atmospheric depression to the northeast just off the Sicilian coast.

The west-northwest wind on Friday is expected to reach Force 6 and 7, while the sea is expected to remain rough, becoming moderate to rough overnight, according to the Met Office at Malta International Airport.

On Saturday, the west-northwest wind at Force 6 will veer to the northwest and become a Force 5 to 6. The strong wind is expected to moderate to around Force 3 and 4 by Sunday.

Throughout yesterday, an average of 17.3mm of rainfall were recorded, bringing the total rainfall that fell on the Maltese islands since 1 September to 187.4mm.

The mass of low pressure, which earlier in the week was stationary off Malta’s south-east has gradually moved towards the Ionian Sea and transformed into a hurricane, popularly referred to as a medicane.

Strong winds and incessant rain have battered Sicily’s east coast with the civil protection placed on maximum alert as the island braces itself for the worse.

Malta was spared the worst impact of the bad weather but the island has been lashed by wind and rain throughout the whole week.

Kurt Sansone is Executive Editor of MaltaToday. He was formerly deputy editor of MaltaTod...