September 2013 was a dry month with only about half the expected rainfall for the month. In fact, the monthly rainfall total for September 2013 was 33.6mm compared to the average of 67.2mm.
There were five days of rain, six days with lightning/thunder and two days with hail. The number of rain days matched the monthly average but the number of days with lightning/thunder and hail were slightly above the norm for September. The wettest September ever was in 2003 with 226.3mm while the driest was in 1992 with absolutely no rain at all!
The mean monthly temperature for September 2013 was 24.8°C. This was just 0.2°C below average. The average maximum monthly temperature of 27.8°C was 0.7°C below average while the average minimum monthly temperature of 21.7°C was 0.1°C above average.
The coolest September ever was in 2004 with a mean monthly temperature of 24.0°C while the hottest ever was in 1994 with a mean monthly temperature of 26.5°C.
The hottest day in September 2013 was on the 9th with a high of 31.9°C. The coolest night in September 2013 was on the 28th with a low of 18.8°C. The hottest September temperature ever recorded was 39.2°C on 26th September 1992 while the coldest was 15.4°C on 28th September 2004.
The wind blew mainly from the northwest with an average wind speed at Zebbug Malta of 9.8km/h. The strongest gust at Zebbug Malta was of 75.9km/h on the 16th from a north-northwesterly direction during a thunderstorm.
The mean monthly sea-level pressure was 1016.5hPa, with the highest of 1025.4hPa on the 3rd and the lowest of 1007.6hPa on the 30th as a cold front moved across the Maltese Islands.
There were two severe thunderstorms, one on the 5th and the other on the 22nd.
The one on the 5th was caused by a supercell moving eastwards from Tunisia that affected the Maltese Islands during the early afternoon with heavy rainfall, small hail, strong Force 9 to 10 microburst winds and dangerous lightning. Highest wind gusts were Nadur 86.9km/h and Burmarrad 85.3km/h, and a boat in Mellieha reported a gust of 94km/h. There was also an unconfirmed report of a possible funnel cloud.
In Cirkewwa, a canopy was blown off and hit some cars. A lamp-post was also wrenched off a wall near the Regional Road in San Gwann. Another three lamp-posts were dislodged in Marfa Road, Mellieha. Low-lying areas, particularly Msida, suffered road flooding. Traffic in many areas was reduced to a crawl. A number of trees were uprooted, causing more driver misery.
Nine children also had to be rescued from the sea when a number of small sailing boats capsized after being hit by a wave. The incident happened off Sirens pitch in St Paul’s Bay as the thunderstorm and strong winds suddenly hit Malta.
At least two waterspouts were seen during the second severe thunderstorm on the 22nd , one from Marsascala and another from Dingli / Wied iż-Żurrieq.
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