Weathermen are forecasting New Year’s Eve will be the coldest December day in Malta in 26 years so whatever your party plans are make sure they include a portable heater.
The Meteorological Office is predicting temperatures to dip to a minimum of 4˚C tomorrow night because of a spell of cold weather heading towards the Mediterranean from Scandinavia and Russia.
This mercury plunge is anticipated to transform tomorrow into the coldest night for 2014. The last time temperatures went below 4˚C in December was in 1988 when it dropped to 3.7˚C.
Strapping hot water bottles, wearing thermals and sipping hot toddies will not be enough to survive the night.
You will also need a pair of Wellington boots and a sturdy umbrella – December 31 is set to be a showery one, all through the day and night with thunderstorms to boot.
On the continent, cold snaps combined with showers usually result in snow. Which is why, when it gets nippier than usual, every Maltese from age three onward, asks: will it snow?
A Met Office spokesman brushed off the idea. “The temperature needs to get close to 0˚C for snow, and that is something which has never happened since 1922 when meteorological records started being kept.”
He explained it was next to impossible to see snow in Malta since the island was too far south and surrounded by sea. At 18˚C, the sea is still warm and not predicted to go below 15˚C.
“If the sea ever plummets to 0˚C it would freeze up and we can ice skate on the sea,” the spokesman said with a laugh.
The day after, New Year’s Day, we should shiver marginally less: the minimum temperature forecast is 7˚C, although the maximum temperatures are not expected to surpass 10˚C.
Showers are forecast again for Thursday, but the good news is the cold snap will lift over the weekend and Saturday and Sunday should be warmer.
The coldest month of the year is usually February when a mean temperature of 9.2˚C is recorded. However, according to the Met Office, an exceptionally cold December does not automatically mean February 2015 will be even colder.
If the sea ever plummets to 0˚C it will freeze up... and we can ice skate on it
“Let’s keep in mind that the first half of December was warmer than usual and temperatures only dropped this week,” he said.
The lowest December temperature was recorded in 1967, when on December 22 it went down to 3.6˚C. Since then, temperatures only dropped below 4˚C one other time, on December 17, 1988 when the thermometer registered 3.7˚C.
Other cold December days were recorded in 1971, 1976 and 1977 when temperatures hovered between 4.2 and 4.6˚C. More recently, on December 19, 2001, temperatures dipped to 4.3˚C, and four years ago, on December 17, it went down to 4.6˚C.
The cold snap has been causing disruption in France, the UK and Germany. Snow and ice in the French Alps have stranded thousands of vehicles, blocking holiday traffic to and from ski resorts. Hundreds of skiers in the Alps have had to spend their nights in emergency accommodation.
Heavy snow and icy temperatures are also causing major travel problems across the UK with reports of bus passengers and drivers stranded in some areas.