March was warmer than usual despite a cold start with some rainfall, according to Malta International Airports’ Met Office.

In a review issued today, it said the first 13 days of March saw a mean temperature below the 30-year norm but the start of spring saw temperatures rise to well above the average. This resulted in a mean temperature of 13.7°C compared to 13.4°C which is the 30-year mean for March. 

The lowest temperature recorded was of 7°C on March 12th while the highest was 23.4°C and was recorded on March 18th.

A total of 44.6mm of rain fell last month at Luqa which was higher than the climate March norm of 41.0mm but far off from the wettest ever March of 144.6mm registered in 1953.

The driest March was in 1977 with just 0.4 mm of rainfall. The wettest day last month was March 9th with a total of 13.6mm. Dew was registered on four days but no hail or fog was observed. Thunder was heard on March 5th and 9th.

A mean relative humidity of 78% was recorded last month, which was a little lower than the expected March mean of 79%. The mean sea temperature last month was 15.1 °C which was close to the March norm of 15.0°C.

The days in March enjoyed an average of 6.9 hours of bright sunshine, which is 0.3 hours fewer than the mean for March. In total March saw 214 hours of bright sunshine

Last month, Malta Airport Met Office registered six days of wind gusts greater or equal to 34 knots. On March 2, a wind gust of 37 knots from the West was registered.

The mean wind speed for March was 9.5 knots while the most frequent direction was the West by North. Light wind was registered 62% of the time.