Thursday,
February 6th 2003, was the coldest day at Nadur for quite a while.
Nadur's weather-man Joe Meilak reports.
February 6th 2003 was the coldest day at Nadur for quite a while. The maximum temperature on Thursday was only 10.0oC (50oF) at 1438 CET. This temperature was the lowest since January 2002. The lowest temperature was only 4.6oC (40.2oF) recorded at 1037 CET during a heavy hailstorm, with the hail remaining on the ground for quite a while, presenting a rare wintry scene. This temperature was the lowest recorded since March 1999.
The wind was also very
strong from the West, and at times it reached Gale Force 8 (61 km/h),
which made the cold temperature feel even colder. In fact the wind chill
temperature hit -9.1oC (15.6oF) at 1040 CET (the
‘wind chill temperature’ is
a calculation combining air temperature and wind speed, given in degrees
Celsius. It represents the cooling effect felt due to the loss of body
heat, caused by the strength of the wind). On
Wednesday, February 5th, the wind was even stronger, and at times Gale
Force 9 was reached. The highest gust measured was 76.2km/h.
February
has been unusually cold this year. The bad weather of the past week was
caused by a deep low pressure system which formed over Northern Italy on
Sunday. This system, in tandem with a high pressure over Russia, caused
a frigid, cold current to reach the Central Mediterranean Sea. The warm
sea temperatures around Malta (16oC) contributed to
the formation of large areas of cumulonimbus clouds, which produce heavy
showers with thunder and hail.
This state of affairs
is expected to last only till Friday (February 7th) morning, when the
low pressure area currently over Greece, is expected to move far enough
to loosen its grip on the Maltese Islands. Thus, the weather is
predicted to become only partly cloudy by Friday afternoon, and remain
mostly fine until Sunday. The next chance for rain is on Monday
(February 10th).
The temperatures are
expected to recuperate a bit, climbing to 12oC during the day
and to about 9oC during the night.
For more details, please visit the Nadur Weather Observatory's website by logging on gozoweather.com or by clicking on the WEATHER link on the left-hand side of this page. You will find live weather readings from Nadur every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. It also includes a 3-day marine forecast, a weather data archives section, a glossary of weather terminology and much more.
