The temperatures registered for the first couple of days in June were about four degrees below the average, but still within the normal bracket, The Malta Independent has learnt.

Saviour Porter from the Met Office said: “It’s still very normal for this time of the year. Averages mean that on some days temperatures are higher than normal and on other days lower. It was about four degrees lower than the average, but still well within the normal bracket.”

Mr Porter explained that an area of high pressure stretching from Ireland to Algeria and the central Mediterranean together with an area of low pressure over the Tyrrhenian Sea were the cause of the strong northwesterly winds experienced these last couple of days.

He pointed out that even the rain that fell on the islands on Thursday was nothing out of the ordinary.

“It was only about 1.4 millimetres of rainfall.

“But there have been at least another 13 occasions in June, in the past 84 years, with significantly heavier precipitation.

In fact, just three years ago, on 20 June 2003, heavy rain showers hit the Maltese Islands late in the afternoon, depositing more than 18 millimetres of rain in just a couple of hours” he said.

Mr Porter said that today will probably see a high of about 22°C which might go up to about 24°C tomorrow. However, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the temperatures are expected to go up to about 27°C, perhaps heralding the beginning of summer proper.