Flooded roads cause rush hour chaos

Traffic was chaotic during the rush hour yesterday morning with many reporting for work more than 90 minutes late when 26mm of rain caused many roads to flood.

The rainfall was, however, nothing out of the ordinary, according to the Meteorological Office, which said a maximum rainfall rate was 14mm per hour at 8 a.m., just one millimetre over the average rate for February.

The highest rainfall rate this year – 16mm per hour – was registered on January 21, totalling 19.4mm.

The showers on the first day of February marked the end of the fourth wettest January in the last 10 years. The total rainfall registered last month at Luqa airport amounted to 106mm, about 17mm more than the January norm.

Although somewhat wetter than usual, January was also warmer, with the average temperature standing at 12.9°C, half a degree higher than the norm.

The highest temperature recorded last month was 18.8°C, 3.4°C lower than the all-time high for January of 22.2°C measured in 1982.

January nights, with an average temperature of 9.7°C, were also warmer by 0.2°C than the climate norm.

The coolest night last month was the 25th when the thermometer reached a minimum of 6.7°C, rather warm when compared to the 1.4°C of January 29, 1981, the lowest record for the month.

An average of six hours and six minutes of bright sunshine a day was recorded last month with 60 minutes more sunshine for the average January.

The monthly mean relative humidity reached 84 per cent, five per cent higher than the climate norm.