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Coldest October days on record
Colder than average temperatures expected to continue over the next few months.
October 2011 was the fifth consecutive October with temperatures below average.
Metoemalta.com said the last October with temperatures above average was in 2006. The mean monthly maximum temperature of 23.1°C in October 2011 was also the lowest ever for October since temperature records began in 1987.
However, October 2011 was slightly drier than average at Balzan with 66.4mm compared to the average of 76.8mm.
But other locations in Malta and Gozo were notably wetter, particularly Nadur and Xaghra with 116.4mm and 125.8mm respectively. The wettest October on record was that of 2010 with a total of 240.0mm measured at Balzan. The driest October was just a paltry 0.8mm in 2001.
Temperatures were much cooler than average particularly during the day with the mean monthly temperature of 20.6°C being 1.3°C below average. The temperature reached a high of only 26.0°C on the 1st and 3rd of the month – this was also the lowest ever for October. The highest October temperature ever was 33.5°C on 2nd October 1991 and 27th October 1999. The coldest night was on the 18th when the temperature went down to chilly 13.2°C. The coldest temperature ever recorded in October was 11.3°C on 29th October 1996.
There was one notable weather event in October: a severe thunderstorm with large hail and a waterspout in Gozo at around 1.30pm on the 3rd of the month, producing heavy rain and large hail (1.9mm diameter confirmed at Victoria). Nadur had 31mm of rain from this storm and a waterspout was seen off Qbajjar just before the storm hit Gozo. Rescuers were called to remove a tree which fell across a road in Victoria and there was flooding in some streets but no one was injured.
The wind is expected to decrease on Wednesday but with more rain showers or thunderstorms expected over the next few days. However, the weather is then expected to improve with no rain expected over the weekend. Long-term forecasts reveal colder-than-average temperatures over the next three months or so and with average or below average rainfall amounts.
