The end-of-summer change in weather, often characterised by storms and flooding, may be coming earlier as the Meteorological Office has forecast thunderstorms for today and tomorrow.
However, a Met Office spokesman said it would be presumptuous to say whether it would simply be isolated showers, heavy rainfall or possibly floods.
The spokesman said yesterday that the last time it rained during August was in 2006, when about eight millimetres fell on the ninth day of the month.
The average rainfall for this month is 7.1mm but there have been exceptions, with the most notable being in 1964 when 155mm of rain was recorded.
Last year, 42.4mm of rain fell on Monday, September 3, causing havoc in areas prone to flooding such as Qormi and Birkirkara.
A 39-year-old man died after being struck by lightning while hunting in a field in Marsascala.
Though rainfall during last year’s storm was not exceptionally high, a 34-year-old woman nearly lost her life after her car was dragged into a service tunnel at the Santa Venera tunnels exit.
Another man suffered a similar fate but managed to pull himself to safety after being swept a considerable distance inside the tunnel.
The Transport Ministry failed to respond to questions when asked if necessary precautions had been taken to prevent similar flooding through the maintenance of culverts and water courses.
Times of Malta visited the same spot in Santa Venera. The service tunnel entrance was open due to maintenance works being carried out on the other side of the underground passageway, which ends in Qormi.
Sources said last year’s flooding was mainly caused when the Qormi exit was blocked by cars and other objects swept by the currents.
“One hopes the authorities are now fully aware of the situation and have taken steps to avoid the story repeating itself,” the source said.
This newspaper yesterday also visited other areas prone to flooding such as Qormi and Marsa where the €56 million EU-funded flood relief project is under way.
Parts of the watercourse in Qormi are littered with debris and other material, which might possibly obstruct the flow of water in case of heavy rainfall.
In Birkirkara, where residents living in Valley Road and Triq il-Qasab have to bear the brunt of the floods, the watercourse was clean and free from any obstacles.
However, works in Main Street, Balzan, where the road is being excavated, might pose serious problems if the material is washed down towards the Birkirkara valley.