Sunny skies forecast for Easter weekend, says Met Office

Easter weekend is set to bring pleasant and sunny weather across the Maltese Islands, with the Meteorological Office forecasting light winds and daytime temperatures peaking at 21°C on Easter Sunday.

According to the Met Office, strong winds from the west-northwest are expected on Maundy Thursday, reaching Force 5 to 6, but will begin to ease by Thursday evening. By Good Friday, winds will calm further and become light and variable, setting the stage for a fine weekend.

Daytime temperatures throughout the Easter period will hover around 21°C, dropping to around 13–14°C at night.

The promising outlook follows a turbulent March, which saw above-average rainfall, higher temperatures, and hazy skies due to Saharan dust clouds. The islands received 81mm of rain, more than double the typical monthly average of 39.7 mm. The wettest day was March 25, when a deluge of 34.4mm of "blood rain" fell in less than 24 hours.

From mid-March onwards, a low-pressure system over Algeria ushered large plumes of Saharan dust into the central Mediterranean, resulting in gloomy, sunless days on March 2, 7, and 25. These atmospheric conditions blocked out the sun entirely, with zero recorded sunshine hours on those days.

Despite the wet and dusty conditions, temperatures remained higher than normal, averaging 15.7°C, which is 1.6°C above the climatic average. The highest temperature of the month—25.5°C—was recorded on March 11, while the coldest night dipped to 9°C on March 21.

March was also notably windier than usual, with an average wind speed of 11.3 knots, nearly two knots above the seasonal norm. The strongest gust was recorded on March 24, blowing at 40 knots from the south by west.