November rainfall eases drought despite monthly precipitation falling below the norm

Despite the dry start to autumn, November's rainfall brought some relief to the drought across the Maltese Islands.

However, the monthly precipitation still fell short of meeting the average quota for November.

A total of 82.8mm of rain was recorded—6.2 mm less than the norm for this time of year.

More than 75% of the total rainfall occurred within the first half of the month, specifically between 6 and 12 of November, while the second half was mostly dry, save for a few wintry showers in the final days.

November also saw only two thunderstorms, a significant decrease compared to the five typically expected.

Despite the unfavourable weather experienced towards the start of the month, the air temperature remained above average for much of the month, cooling closer to the norm towards the last days of November.

The average temperature for the month was 18.4°C, slightly exceeding the norm by 0.5°C, while the highest temperature of 25.1°C was recorded on the 4th day. Despite this temperature being relatively warm for November, this was far from the record of 29.1°C set last year.

The coldest day of the month was the 25th, with a night-time low of 10.1°C, still far from the record low of 5°C recorded in 1995.

Those who are still enjoying the odd dip in the sea also must have realised that the sea was relatively warm for this time of year. In fact, the average temperature came in at 23.2°C, which is nearly two degrees above the norm.

Sunny weather dominated much of the month, resulting in 11.4 hours more sunshine than average. The brightest day was November 1st, with 9.5 hours of sunshine, while the stormy 11th was the gloomiest, with less than one hour of sunshine recorded.