December was among the driest in recent years

December 2010 was one of the driest in recent years, according to MeteoMalta, a private meteorological station.

Only 26.5mm of rain were recorded, compared to the mean of 107.7mm, following hard on the heels of the previous month which was also among the driest on record.

In 1987 just 23.6mm of rainfall were recorded in December, while the wettest in recent years was 2007 with 229.9mm.

Temperatures were slightly warmer than average and with great fluctuations last month.

The mean monthly temperature of 15.2°C was 0.5°C above average. The warmest day was December 1 with a maximum temperature of 24.6°C. The coolest night in December 2010 was that of the 17th when the thermometer dipped to 6.0°C.

The most frequent wind direction was westerly with an average wind speed at Zebbug Malta of 14.4km/h. The strongest gust of 72.2km/h occurred on the 24th as a deep Atlantic low pressure system invaded the western Mediterranean with the corresponding maximum gust at Mellieha of 92.5km/h occurring the previous day. There was also a maximum gust of 90.7km/h on the 10th at the same location as gale force winds affected the Maltese Islands due to a rather deep low pressure system moving southeasterly along the Adriatic and the Balkans.

The main weather event in December was a brief waterspout lasting around 5 minutes off the Sliema front at around 10:15am on the 15th, even though conditions were not really conducive for such a phenomenon.

The weather is expected to be become wetter and cooler over the next few days with maximum temperatures of around 15-16 degrees Celsius and minimum temperatures of around 9-10 degrees Celsius, MeteoMalta said.