Air Temperature

Highest Maximum 29.3°C 3rd
Lowest Maximum 23.6°C 31st
Highest Minimum 24.3°C 3rd
Lowest Minimum 15.2°C 30th

 

Mean Maximum 26.1°C
Mean Minimum 18.7°C
Mean 22.4°C

 

Relative Humidity

Highest Relative Humidity 95% Numerous days
Lowest Relative Humidity 52% 12th

 

Mean Relative Humidity 78.6%

 

Wind

Highest Gust 53.1km/h 19th

 

Mean Wind Speed 8.0km/h
Most Frequent Wind Direction South Southeast

 

Atmospheric Pressure

Highest Atmospheric Pressure 1028.0hPa 24th
Lowest Atmospheric Pressure 1007.2hPa 3rd

 

Mean Atmospheric Pressure 1018.8hPa

 

Precipitation

Total Rainfall During October 2024 23.7 mm
Total Rainfall Since Last 01/09 53.4 mm

 

Highest 24 Hour Total 22.4 mm 19th

 

Rain Days 3 days
Thunderstorm Days 2 days
Hail Days 0 days

 

Rainfall Events

18/10/2024 0.5 mm Light Rain Shower
19/10/2024 22.4 mm Thunderstorm
22/10/2024 1.0 mm Light Rain Shower; Distant Thunderstorm

 

October 2024 Compared to the Climate Means

  Climate Mean October 2024 Anomaly
Mean Maximum Temperature 24.9°C 26.1°C  +1.2°C
Mean Minimum Temperature 18.5°C 18.7°C +0.2°C
Mean Temperature 21.7°C 22.4°C +0.7°C
Mean Relative Humidity 77.7% 78.6% +0.9%
Mean Atmospheric Pressure 1017.8hPa 1018.8hPa +1.0hPa
Total Rainfall 84.0 mm 23.7 mm -60.3 mm
Total Rainfall Since Last 01/09 138.9 mm 53.4 mm -85.5 mm
Total Rain Days 10 days 3 days -7 days
Total Thunderstorm Days 6 days 2 days -4 days
Total Hail Days 1 day 0 days -1 day

 

A Very Warm and Dry October 2024

October brought generally dry warm weather to the Maltese Islands.

Having produced just 9.4 mm of precipitation, October was significantly drier than the climate norm, which stands at 84.0 mm of rainfall. This was the third consecutive year with a very dry October. It was also one of the driest on record. There was only one major rainfall event. After a day of near misses, an evening downpour on the 19th struck the northern half of Gozo with up to 70 mm in the villages of San Lawrenz and Għarb. Surrounding localities also received a decent share of rain. 22.4 mm were measured by our rain gauge in Kerċem. There were two other days with rain, both yielding only light rain showers. Thunderstorms drifted past on one of these occasions. Localities across Malta received no heavy rainfall at all.

October 2024 was also significantly warmer than average, registering a mean temperature of 22.4°C which exceeded the climate norm by 0.7°C. A staggering twenty-six days in October registered maximum temperatures that were higher than the norm. An extensive area of high pressure (anticyclone) prevailed over eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. Troughs of low pressure (storm systems) remained stuck over the western Mediterranean and northwestern Europe. This helped maintain a persistent easterly air flow across the central Mediterranean. Apart from making October the second consecutive month with the South Southeast as the predominant wind direction, it ensured that warm air was constantly advected from regions of the Sahara towards the central Mediterranean.

October was a much calmer month than expected at this time of year, with the wind speed averaging at 8.0 km/h rather than the norm of around 13.7 km/h. October’s maximum wind gust measured 53.1 km/h (Force 7) and blew from the Southeast in the morning of the 19th, ahead of the evening downpour.

Rainfall Totals around the Maltese Islands in October 2024 (and since last October 1st):

Kerċem: 23.7 mm (53.4 mm)

Victoria: 22.6 mm (57.0 mm)

Xewkija: 7.5 mm (31.8 mm)

Nadur: 21.8 mm (53.6 mm)

Marsalforn: 16.6 mm (43.3 mm)

Mellieħa: 6.8 mm (48.6 mm)

Buġibba: 3.0 mm (54.6 mm)

Mġarr: 9.7 mm (34.9 mm)

Naxxar: 5.0 mm (71.6 mm)

Mosta: 5.9 mm (70.7 mm)

Dingli: 5.5 mm (33.5 mm)

Msida: 4.9 mm (95.4 mm)

Valletta: 4.6 mm (69.3 mm)

Imqabba: 4.6 mm (41.3 mm)

Birżebbuġa: 5.3 mm (36.2 mm)

Sliema: 6.2 mm (68.7 mm)

Fgura: 6.0 mm (89.0 mm)

NATIONAL MEAN: 9.4 mm (56.1 mm)