Last May was the stormiest since 1951

Last month's weather provided double the expected rainfall, making it the stormiest May since 1951, the Meteorological Office said on Tuesday.

In a statement it said that while April was a relatively dry month, May had taken Malta by storm, showering the islands with 7.2mm of rain on the third day of the month. “While this was the wettest day for May, a total of 19.2mm of precipitation were measured on the Maltese Islands throughout the month, which is more than double the expected 8.5mm of rain for this time of year,” the statement read.

However, the office said despite May being generally calm, winds reached a maximum gust of 48 knots on the 4 May. Six thunderstorms were also registered during May, the Met Office said, significantly higher than the expected average of one .

“The wet weather conditions during the third week of May allowed for the development of funnel clouds, which descended on the Islands on the 14 May. The mean cloud cover for the month was 3.7 oktas; this being slightly heavier than the norm of 3.1 oktas.”

The office said that sunshine compensated for the “spell of bleak weather” on the islands with 12.9 hours of sunshine being registered on 17 May, making it the brightest day of the month.

“Despite the fact that the total 289.7 hours of sunshine recorded during May fell 10 hours short of the expected 299.1 hours for this time of year, the Islands still basked in an average of 9.3 hours of bright sunshine every day.”

It noted the month started off on a cool note, seeing air temperatures drop to a low of 10.1°C on 8 May, however, as the month progressed temperatures rose, to a maximum of 26.7°C on 29 May.

The office said the average air temperature was over one degree lower than the climate norm of 19.8°C, standing at 18.3°C. Similarly, the average sea temperature for the month stood at 17.9°C, which was slightly lower than the climate norm of 18°C.