Winter is here, and many are wondering what the weather situation will be like on the whole. The Maltese Islands may be on the verge of a brief cold snap, but that doesn’t mean that this winter will be a cold one. The latest long-term maps show that this year’s winter will be mild. That means average or above average temperatures and drier than average weather. It is not straightforward though. Anticyclones over the Azores will be stronger than normal. The atmospheric pressure across Scandinavia will be lower than average. This setting should block air masses of Arctic origin from reaching the central Mediterranean on numerous occasions. Conversely, this will allow air masses of Saharan origin to rise from north Africa into the Mediterranean more freely. This will lead to milder than average temperatures for much of the Mediterranean much of the time. This does not mean that no cold snaps will occur locally. It means that any cold snaps will be brief. They will also be far and few in between. Overall, temperatures should be 0.5 C to 1.0 C warmer than average. Stronger anticyclones over the Azores will mean that storms which normally affect the Mediterranean will be pushed further north. As a result, drier conditions are to be expected for much of the Mediterranean. The Maltese Islands are included in this. A milder-than-average winter does not imply the complete absence of spells of cold and wet weather. These will just be separated by longer than average spells of dry weather. These are the highlights for this winter:

January 2020: Warmer than average temperatures. Drier than average rainfall

February 2020: Warmer than average temperatures. Drier than average rainfall

March 2020: Warmer than average temperatures. Drier than average rainfall

 

Ix-xitwa waslet, u ħafna qed jistaqsu kif se jkun it-temp matul dan l-istaġun. Huwa vera li l-Gżejjer Maltin jinsabu fil-bidu ta’ perjodu ta’ kesħa, imma dan ma jfissirx li x-xitwa se tkun waħda kiesħa. L-aħħar mapep juru li din ix-xitwa se tkunu waħda ħafifa. Dan ifissier temperaturi mal-medja jew ogħla mill-medja u xita anqas minn normal. Mhux daqshekk faċli pero’. Antiċiklun fuq il-Gżejjer Ażores se jkun aktar b’saħħtu minn normal. Il-pressjoni fuq l-Iskandinavja se tkun anqas minn normal. Din is-sitwazzjoni metejoroloġika se twassal biex masses ta’ arja instabbli minn l-Artiku jiġu miżmuma minn li jilħqu ċ-ċentru tal-Mediterran. Fl-istess waqt, masses ta’ arja minn fuq l-Afrika ta’ fuq se jkunu jistgħu jersqu ‘l fuq b’mod aktar faċli. Dan se jwassal biex it-temperatur madwar il-Mediterran ikunu ogħla mill-medja frekwentament. Dan ma jfissirx li mhux se jkollna waqtiet ta’ ksieħ u bard. Dan ifisser li waqtiet ta’ ksieħ u bard se jkunu qosra u mhux daqstant frekwenti. It-temperaturi se jkunu 0.5 C sa 1.0 C ogħla mill-medja. L-antiċikluni aktar b’saħħithom fuq il-Gżejjer Ażores ifissru li l-maltemp fuq l-Atlantiku se jkun imbuttat ‘il fuq ħafna drabi, flok jilħaq iċ-ċentru tal-Mediterran. Għaldaqstant, it-temp għandu jkun aktar niexef minn normal. Il-Gżejjer Maltin huma nklużi f’dan. Xitwa aktar ħafifa mill-medja ma jfissirx li se tkun xitwa nieqsa minn kull kesħa. Ifisser biss li l-kesħa se tkun f’perjodi qosra. Dawn huma d-dettalji għal din ix-xitwa:

Jannar 2020: Aktar sħun minn normal. Anqas xita minn normal.

Frar 2020: Aktar sħun minn normal. Anqas xita minn normal.

Marzu 2020: Aktar sħun minn normal. Anqas xita minn normal.