Wednesday, 1st October 2008 - 15:16CET
September rainfall exceeded 30-year average
The thunderstorm last night as seen by Frederick Muscat of Mgarr.
Rainfall over Malta last month was above the average for the past 30 years, but it was also slightly warmer, the Met Office at MIA said today.
It reported that 88 mm of rain fell last month at Luqa Airport, which was more than the past 30-year September average rainfall of 55.4 mm. Out of a total of 10 rainy days, the wettest day was yesterday, with 41.8 mm. No hail was recorded, but thunderstorms were noted on the 2nd, 3rd, 14th, 23rd, 24th and 30th.
The wettest September on record was that of 1997 with 266.9 mm and the driest was that of 1943, a completely dry month.
With an average temperature of 24.6°C, September days were slightly warmer by 0.2°C than the monthly average for the past 30 years.
As to extremes, the highest maximum temperature of 36.1°C was recorded on September 8th. That was 1.3C lower than the maximum for the past 60 years. The hottest September days on record were those of the 9th and 10th of 1924, when a maximum temperature of 38.9°C was reached.
Meanwhile, the lowest minimum temperature last month was 15.6°C recorded last Monday. This was higher than the 61-year September average by 2.4C.
Records at the Malta International Airport show that the coolest September night occurred on the 21st in 1969, with a minimum of 13.2°C.
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Comments
Regarding the rainfall, if the roundabouts and traffic islands with the soil level higher than the boundary wall do not get a layer of turf, all the soil will be washed away within a couple of days with heavy rain like we had last night.