Two cars were damaged when a wall collapsed in Fgura early this morning in an incident which is thought to have been caused by strong wind.

The south-south easterly wind, which was at its strongest at about 4 a.m., is also thought to have been the cause of a number of stones falling from an apartment block in St Julians. The stones fell onto the roof of an adjoining house, causing a partial collapse.

No one was injured.

The strong wind also uprooted trees in several localities, notably at Sta Lucija.

Policemen and members of the Civil Protection Department were on hand to give assistance.

MeteoMalta, a private meteorological station, said a squall line associated with a vigorous low pressure system crossed the Maltese Islands at around 4am. It spawned a dry microburst from high-based thunderstorms. A microburst is a narrow, intense downdraft generated from the thunderstorm as the raindrops evaporate and the downdraft reaches the ground not accompanied by rain. The air - cooled by evaporating rain - crashes downward almost like a rock in a pond. The cooler, denser air accelerates downward and then spreads rapidly outward in strong gusty winds near the surface.

Maximum gusts at around 4.15am associated with this microburst were: 98.1km/h at Mellieha, 86.9km/h at Zebbug, 88.6km/h at Naxxar, 92.0km/h aMsidat , 93.0km/h at Tarxien and 83.7km/h at Zejtun. These maximum wind speeds correspond to Force 9 and 10 on the Beaufort scale.

The weather for the next few days is expected to be fine or partly cloudy, although cooler than it has been for the past few days. Rain showers possibly thundery are expected this coming weekend. (www.meteomalta.com)

This was the second time this month that gale force winds caused damage. The biggest casualty on March 5 was the Xarolla windmill in Żurrieq. A fibreglass and concrete statue of Our Lady of Pompeii wasalso ripped off the dome of a small church annexed to the Dominican convent in Victoria.