Though showers are expected on Saturday, the skies should be clearing up in time for New Year's Eve, the Met. Office said on Friday.

The weather is expected to fine on the morning of New Year's Day and mainly sunny for the rest of the day.

Mercury levels will also gradually soar over the last weekend of the year; going from 16°C on Saturday to a comfortable maximum temperature of 18°C on the first day of 2018 - two degrees above the monthly mean for this time of year.

Those keen on celebrating the turn of the year outdoors should also be relatively comfortable as the lowest temperature forecast for the weekend is 10°C. The minimum temperature on January 1 is expected to be even higher, at 13°C.

Meteorological records show that the start to 2015 was the coldest.

The northwesterly wind is expected to blow throughout Saturday and Sunday, becoming moderate during the New Year's Eve celebrations, and light to moderate westerly on the first day of the year.

A hail storm hit Malta early on Friday, a day after strong winds lashed the island.

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