Don't worry, you're not likely to be blown away

Conflicting weather reports are forecasting winds ranging from strong to record-breaking gales on Wednesday, so the public might want to wait till the beginning of the week before changing any plans for fear of being blown away.

According to the international weather website www.Windfinder.com, the winds will reach gale force 10 on Wednesday. But the Met Office is predicting wind reaching forces five to six and insists Malta never gets those sort of winds. Maltaweather.com, another weather website, similarly predicts forces six or seven.

A spokesman for the Met Office said the forecast of force 10 was alarming people unnecessarily. "Malta never had and will probably never have such strong winds," the spokesman said.

He added that the weather outlook for Wednesday was south west winds reaching forces five to six. He stressed that the forecast will be more accurate closer to the date.

So it might be worth waiting till Monday or Tuesday for a better idea of how the wind will blow on Wednesday.