Mnarja Weather

WEATHER DURING THE DAYS LEADING TO MNARJA SINCE 1990
- Joe Meilak reports for june29th.com -

Weather can and does affect outdoor activities. The week before Mnarja is chock-full of activities at Nadur, and the weather, especially the strong winds, has over the years disrupted some outdoor activities and even damaged some outdoor decorations. In this report we will take a look at the Mnarja-weather since 1990, and look ahead at the kind of weather we can expect over the last two weeks of June – the most important two weeks in the year for the Nadurin.

1990:

Nothing to complain about in 1990. We experienced sunny weather from June 18th until Mnarja Day. The wind was light and mostly variable throughout the period. The temperature was quite warm and ranged from 28 degrees C to 33 degrees C.

1991:

The weather was sunny and hot from the 23rd till the 28th June, with temperatures ranging from 30-34 degrees C. The wind was light from the NW. But on the evening of the 28th the NW wind became strong and it reached Gale Force 7. The rather strong wind continued on Mnarja Day – June 29th, when the maximum temperature dropped to only 26 degrees C.

1992:

The days before Mnarja were partly to mostly cloudy, and there was even 0.2mm of rain on the 23rd. The wind was strong to very strong from the ESE on the 22nd and 23rd, and quite strong from the NW between the 25th and 27th. It then became light and variable on June 28th and June 29th. The temperatures were quite cool for the period, ranging from 26 degrees to 28 degrees C.

1993:

On the 23rd we had a trace of rain. Thereafter, through the 29th the weather was mostly sunny with temperatures ranging from 27 degrees C to 31 degrees C. The wind was strong from SE on the 22nd and 23rd, and then it became light and variable, mostly from the NW and SW.

1994:

This was probably one of the few years where the weather was perfect for outdoor activities. It was sunny all the way from June 17th until June 29th, with light winds, mainly from the SE. It was also quite hot with temperatures between 30 degrees C and 34 degrees C.

1995:

This year the weather was variable from the 20th to the 29th. We had a trace of rain both on the 23rd and 26th. The wind was very strong from the ESE from the 25th to the 27th. On the 28th and 29th it was light from the NW. Temperatures were hot from the 20th to the 25th, ranging from 31 degrees C to 34 degrees C; then things cooled down to 27 degrees C - 29 degrees C between the 26th and the 29th.

1996:

This was one of the coolest Mnarji on record. The maximum temperature from the 25th to the 29th was only between 25 degrees C and 27 degrees C. The weather was unsettled, with a trace of rain being recorded on three consecutive days, between the 22nd and 24th. On the 22nd we had a one day heat wave. The maximum temperature on that day climbed to 36 degrees C. The next day, the 23rd, it only went up to 27 degrees - a 10 degrees C drop in 24 hours! The wind was decidedly strong from the NE to NW from the 22nd to the 28th, and gusts of over 60km/h were recorded throughout this period. It was more like mid-autumn than early summer. However, on the 29th, the wind was only light from the SW, thus enabling all outdoor activities to proceed normally.

1997:

This was one of the windiest Mnarja periods on record. The wind was very strong, with gusts of between 60 and 70km/h from the 20th until the end of June. In fact on the 30th, a 71km/h gust was recorded. The wind direction varied from the ESE to the NW. The sky was partly to mostly cloudy, but no rain was recorded. During June 1997 we had a heat wave from the 13th till the 19th with temperatures ranging from 34 degrees C to 38 degrees C. The temperatures from the 20th until the 29th ranged from 29 degrees C to 31 degrees C, with the notable exception of the 22nd, when 36 degrees C were recorded.

1998:

Not much to say about this year, except hot, hot, hot. We had sunny weather from June 18th onwards, with temperatures getting progressively hotter from the 26 degrees C on the 18th, when the statue of St. Peter and St. Paul was brought out from its niche, to the torrid 39 degrees C on the 30th. The wind was from the S bringing the hot desert air over the Maltese Islands. From the 26th to the 29th, we had temperatures of 35 degrees C to 37 degrees C. This made it very uncomfortable for all the participants of the procession wearing all that heavy ceremonial clothing, but this was nothing compared to the 10 statue bearers who probably sweated profusely during the entire course of the procession. The people responsible for the street ornaments around Nadur must have cursed the heat on the 30th, during their dismantling procedures.

1999:

Mostly nice weather for this year’s Mnarja. On the 20th there was a trace of rain, but it was mostly sunny thereafter until the 29th, with light to moderate winds from the 23rd until the 29th. The wind was quite strong from the NW, however, on the 21st and 22nd.

2000:

A repeat of 1999: mostly sunny weather from the 16th until the end of June, with light to moderate winds. But, unfortunately, on the 29th the wind decided to increase its strength, and a gust of 59km/h was recorded from the NW. The temperature ranged from 28 degrees C to 32 degrees C from June 20th to the 29th.

2001:

Perfect weather for this year’s Mnarja. Sunny and very warm weather with light to moderate winds from June 20th onwards. Temperatures warmed progressively from 26 degrees C on the 20th to 33 degrees C on Mnarja Day.

2002:

Last years Mnarja was also perfect as far as the weather was concerned. Sunny weather dominated the Maltese Islands from June 12th onwards. Temperatures were very comfortable and ranged between 28 degrees C and 30 degrees C throughout the festa period. The wind also lent a hand and it was very light. In fact it the highest gusts did not reach 30km/h from the 13th to June 29th – something extremely rare in our Islands to have 17 consecutive days with extremely light winds.

And what about 2003?

The long-range forecast indicates that the current sunny and hot weather will continue through the end of June. The winds are expected to be light, mostly from the NW. Maximum temperatures should range from 31 degrees C to 34 degrees C. Thus, it looks like 2003 should be a great Mnarja weatherwise.

Although the weather is expected to be mainly sunny over the next two weeks, the instability present over the Central Mediterranean which is producing daily afternoon convectional thunderstorms over Sicily, Italy and Tunisia, may increase enough to hit parts of the Maltese Islands.

To view the latest weather conditions and forecasts over Nadur and the Maltese Islands please visit gozoweather.com.