9th strongest gale force winds in February since 1948

The strongest wind of 55 knots from the West by North was registered at Luqa airport on 18 February and caused considerable damage to private and public property and also affected flights at the Malta International Airport. Strong wind warnings were broadcasted to local authorities and the general public.

Since 1948 the strongest February gale force wind at Luqa was on 4 February 1955 when a maximum gust of 70 knots was recorded.

But the overall monthly average wind speed measured at Luqa Airport was 8.0 knots, which is lower than the monthly climate average of 10.2 knots since 1948. The most frequent wind direction last month was from the Northwest by West. 

A total of 89.6mm of rain fell last month at Luqa, which is higher than the climate February norm of 61.3mm. The wettest day was the 26February with a total of 22.0mm. The highest February rainfall on record occurred in 1965 with a total of 187.9mm, while the driest one was that of 1957 with just 3.5mm.

Overall last February was a colder month than the climate norm. The highest temperature of 19.6°C registered at Luqa Airport on 17 Februarywas lower than the highest record by 7.1°C.

For most of the days last month, the mean air temperature of 11.8^oC was also lower than the climate mean of 12.4^oC for the month of February. Both the mean minimum (8.36^oC) and mean maximum (15.4 ^oC) temperatures were also lower than the norm.

A mean relative humidity of 79% was recorded last February, which is the same average for this time of the year. The most humid February since 1951 was that of 1967 with a value of 86%.

The mean sea temperature last month was 15.8 °C which is 1.1 °C warmer than average.

Thunder was heard on 3, 23 and 24 February, which is within the average number of thundery days for the month of February. The stormiest February months occurred in 1965 and 1971 each with 8 days of thunder. At Luqa Airport hail was recorded on 24 February.

An average of 6 hours and 12 minutes of bright sunshine a day were experienced in February 2011. The brightest February was that of 1995 with an average bright sunshine of 8 hours and 23 minutes.