Last month was the coldest January since 1981, with the average temperature only 11.1 degrees Celsius. That average is 1.5 degrees lower than the average for January.
A record number of days with hail was also reported, with hail being observed on eight separate days during the month of January – the highest ever recorded by the Meteorological Office since records started being kept in 1947.
Prior to 2005, the highest number of days with hail, six, was recorded in 1968, said chief meteorological officer Saviour Porter. The average number of days in a year that it hails is six, and hail has been observed in every month throughout the years except for June and July.
Before an official press statement was issued by the Met. Office, Mr Porter was asked by The Malta Independent to comment on the uncharacteristically cold weather the island encountered during the month of January.
In 1981, the average January temperature was 10.1 degrees Celsius, while this year an average of 11.1 degrees Celsius was registered. The coldest day this January was the 26th, when the highest temperature was just 9.9 degrees Celsius.
The coldest night was on the eighth of the month with the temperature dropping to 4.8 degrees Celsius, said Mr Porter.
The coldest night last month was not as cold as the night of 29 January 1981, when the thermometer fell to 1.4°C – the lowest since 1947.
The highest temperature recorded last month was 17.1°C, also on the eighth. The highest January temperature recorded since 1947 was 22.2°C on 12 January 1982.
There were five days when thunderstorms were observed, which is two more than the average for January. The month with the highest number of thundery days was December 1983, with 14.
The lowest grass height temperature last month was minus 1.8°C, recorded on the 18th. The lowest January grass minimum temperature since 1947 was minus 5°C on 9 January 1966.
A total of 36.2 millimetres of rain fell during January – a somewhat dry month, with slightly more than a third of the average rainfall for January recorded. The wettest January since 1947 was the one in 1973, when there was 225.6 millimetres of rain, and the driest was that of 1983, with only 8.8 millimetres.
It was quite a lively month as regards the wind at Malta International Airport, with the wind being moderate to strong for almost one third of the time. The average speed was 8.4 knots (or 15.6 kilometres per hour). The highest gust was 38 knots (or 70 kilometres per hour) from a northwesterly direction.
Malta had an average of six hours and 18 minutes of sunshine a day, which means that we had a total of 39 hours of sunshine more than an average January. The brightest day was 4 January, with nine hours and 30 minutes, while the dullest was the 19th when the sun was only seen for a little less than one hour.
More information can be obtained by visiting www.maltairport.com/weather
Malta Weather Services managing director Mark Vella Gera was also asked to comment on the cold weather that has hit Malta. He said that the Malta Weather Services has been collecting data since 1988 and confirmed that January 2005 has been the coldest registered.
Day-time temperatures were at a record low this January, with the monthly average registered at 14.3 degrees Celsius. Mr Vella Gera said that despite this cold spell, night-time temperatures have not fallen to record lows. Malta registered much lower minimum temperatures in 1989, 2000 and 2002.
The biting cold that has had everyone digging out their warmest coats and thickest gloves has been forecast to abate this weekend. Mr Vella Gera said the cold Arctic winds should be replaced by warmer winds coming from Africa, possibly resulting in a marked change in weather.
“Although there might still be a few showers, there should be an improvement in air temperatures, which should rise to around 17 or 18 degrees Celsius during the day,” he said.