The highlight of this month was the amount of hail registered on 27 December in some places such as Valletta. A thunderstorm at around 7 am lasted for two hours during which Valletta and Birkirkara were the worst hit with precipitation. This hail was attributed to sub-zero temperatures at lower atmospheric altitudes which did not allow the rapid melting of the ice. More information about this phenomenon will appear in January’s newsletter ([email protected]).

There was a total of 4 days with thunderstorms (3, 11, 27 and 29 December) and 14 days with precipitation. However, the total number of days with thunderstorms is below the December norm since 1951.

Last month, the total rainfall registered at Luqa Airport amounted to 102.8 mm which is slightly less than the 30-year mean for December. Since the last 85 years, the highest rainfall recorded during the month of December was that of 1970 when a total of 302.6 mm of rain fell over the Maltese islands. The day with the highest precipitation (38.4 mm) at Luqa Airport was 3 December.

As to the temperature, a mean air temperature of 14.6°C was recorded which is 0.4°C warmer than the typical 30-year December average. Whereas the mean minimum temperature was higher by 0.9°C, the mean maximum temperature was lower than this 30-year December average by 0.2C. The lowest minimum (7.9°C) and the lowest grass minimum temperature (-3.0°C) of the month of December 2008 were recorded on 23 December.

The table below shows that the mean air temperature registered during the second half of the month was generally less than 30-year norm for the same month.

The average wind speed attained at the Malta International Airport last month was 8.8 knots (or 10.1 mph), which is a typical average value since 1947. The most frequent direction was the NorthWest by West. The strongest gust was 40 knots from the Northwest by North that was reached on the 4th of the month. The strongest gust ever recorded in December at Malta International Airport was 68 knots from the NorthWest on 15 December, 1981.

The Meteorological Office of the Malta International Airport is Malta’s National Meteorological Service appointed by the Maltese Government to provide weather services to the general public. It has records dating from 1947 at the airport and since 1922 for records from Pieta and Valletta. The only official weather forecasts, reports and warnings are those issued by the Malta International Airport Meteorological Office.

The public can subscribe to the free newsletter by sending an email to [email protected].

More information is available on their webpage: www.maltairport.com/weather.