April was warmer, drier than usual - Met Office

April was drier and warmer than normal, with a mean temperature of 17.0 °C, or 1.5 °C higher than the climate norm, the MIA Met office said today.

There were only four days during which the mean average temperature was below the climate norm - from 4th till the 7th of April.

The warmest day last month was the 26th, when the thermometer at the Meteorological Office site at Malta International Airport reached 24.0 °C. The warmest April day ever recorded in Malta was in 1985 when a highest temperature of 30.7 °C was reached on the 9th.

The lowest minimum temperature last month was 11.2 °C and this was recorded on 4th. The coolest April night ever recorded in Malta was that of the 10th April 1956 with a low of 4.4 °C.

The lowest grass-height temperature last month was 9.4 °C, registered on the 2nd of the month. The lowest ever recorded grass-height temperature in April was -0.5 °C on April 3rd 1965.

The average sea surface temperature last month was 16.9 °C. This was higher by one degree than the average value for April since 1978.

A mere total of 1.2 mm of rainfall was recorded last month, which was 21.3 mm less than the 30-year climatological norm for the month of April. The mean relative humidity was 79%, which is 2% higher than the average climatological mean.

The wind speed averaged 8.2 knots (15.7 km/hr), and for 70 % of the time it was in the light speed bracket. The West NorthWest was the most frequent direction and the strongest gust last month, recorded on the 23rd reached 31 knots from the Southeast. The strongest gust ever measured at the airport in April was 56 knots (103.7 km/hr) and this was on April 15th 1969.

There were no days with thunderstorms. On the 27th, fog was observed which reduced visibility at Malta International Airport to less than 1000m.

Last month was less sunny than normal with a total of 234.5 hours of sunshine. This meant a total of 12.5 hours less sunshine than the official 1961-1990 climatological record for April. The brightest day was the 30th with 12 hours and 36 minutes, whilst the dullest were the 12th with just 1hour and 42 minutes of sunshine. The Meteorological Office urges the public be more attentive to the UV Index forecasts as these will soon start reaching high levels.

The Meteorological Office of the Malta International Airport is the official Meteorological Service appointed by the Government of Malta to provide provide weather services to the community. It has records dating from 1947 at the airport and since 1922 for records from Pieta and Valletta. More information is available on our webpage at www.maltairport.com/weather.