A blast of cold air is set to hit Malta later this week and the weekend, according to forecasts.

The Meteorological Office is projecting highs of 10°C for Friday and Saturday (compared to 15° today) and it will feel considerably colder because the wind will be a strong north westerly. The MIA Met Office said the wind chill factor will make the temperature feel like 8°C.

Weather.com is forecasting a high temperature of 9°C for Saturday, while Maltaweather.com puts it at 8°C .

The Gozo weather page warns that if you thought the recent days were cold, think again.

"Another blast of even colder air from over Russia will reach the central Mediterranean on Thursday. This should be the coldest spell of this winter. It will resemble the weather we experienced at the end of 2014, when hail did not melt for 48 hours. Starting on Thursday 5 and persisting till Tuesday 10; we expect cold temperatures (highs of 8 C to 11 C and lows of 4°C to 8°C), strong North-west winds (up to Force 8/9 at their strongest) and a series of rain/hail showers. The temperatures will feel even colder, due to the strong winds. Real-feels as low as -2°C are possible. The hail may be abundant at times. Localised areas could experience graupel (soft hail derived from snow) at times,” it said.

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