Last February wettest in years, Met Office says

70% of the rainfall during the past meteorological winter was produced in February, making it one of the wettest the Maltese Islands have experienced in the past years.

257.4mm of rainfall were recorded from 1 December to the end of February, the Meteorological Office said.

The ninth day was the month’s wettest, dumping on the Maltese Islands just over double an average February’s worth of rain. On the day, 140.4 mm of precipitation were measured by the Meteorological Office in Luqa as Storm Helios battered the islands and other parts of the central Mediterranean.

The day was also the month’s gloomiest, together with the seventh day, with no sunshine recorded.

Unstable weather continued into the next day, prompting the Meteorological Office to renew its warning for strong winds

On 10th February, the month’s strongest wind gust of 49 knots blowing from the Southeast by East direction was measured.

However, February was generally calmer than expected, with the wind speed averaging at 7.9 knots rather than the monthly climatic norm of 9.4 knots.

At 12.2°C, February’s average air temperature was 0.4°C lower than the climate norm, while the mean sea surface temperature, which stood at 16.3°C, was 1°C higher than the norm.

Thick fog recorded on the 23 February came in the aftermath of Storm Helios, as stable weather and water saturated fields provided the perfect conditions for the thick fog.