If there ever was the need for confirmation, now it is official; autumn grabbed the baton from summer in the continuous cycle of seasons.
Just a day after the scholastic year officially started, the country woke up to a heavy downpour that washed the streets, and in some cases turned them into pools or streams. As a result, many an appointment had to be rescheduled and employees arrived late at work because of traffic jams.
These were either caused by the waters that settled on one lane or both or by cars that let their drivers down by stopping in the middle of a thoroughfare.
Other distresses associated with this weather include the flooding of basements, underground garages and houses.
The Civil Protection Department (CPD) had a very busy morning in helping out people who were stranded after their cars stopped or were flooded in.
Director Peter Cordina told The Malta Independent that the department was called at the most flood-associated places, such as Birkirkara, Msida, Qormi and Bahar ic-Caghaq.
In the latter village, a woman and her children were rescued after their car stopped in the rain, while CPD workers helped a good number of people who were caught in the floods in Msida and Qormi. He added that no one was hurt in the storm.
Mr Cordina insisted that people should avoid driving through the more flood-prone areas.
“With a little bit of foresight, people should plan out their trip to take a detour as otherwise they would be putting themselves at risk,” said Mr Cordina.
As more people seek help from the CPD, its resources are further stretched and its interventions would have to be targeted for more people.
Mr Cordina advised all motorists to switch on their lights during downpours even if these occur during the day.
Marsaxlokk and Birzebbuga suffered from an electricity blackout as overhead cables developed a fault. Enemalta Corporation said that the electricity service was interrupted in these two villages at 1am and re-established in the late afternoon.
The storm has been described by the Meteorological Office as a typical September storm and was well within the norm.
Average rainfall between Monday at noon and yesterday noon stood at 23.4 millimetres.
While most weather stations recorded rainfall close to the average, the Dingli station recorded only 11.6 millimetres while the Xewkija station recorded 48.8 millimetres, meaning that in Gozo it rained twice as much as in Malta.
Other showers are expected today and tomorrow, with the wind blowing from the northwest at Force 5 to 6 decreasing to Force 4. Tomorrow, the wind will be blowing from the southwest and will turn to west at Force 4.