A fierce northeasterly wind and rough seas caused by the clash of a low pressure system to the southeast of Malta and a strong high pressure system over Europe (as can be seen in the synoptic map to the right) lashed Malta throughout the day and caused damage all along the east coast, with boats slipping their moorings at St Pual's Bay, St Julians and Sliema Creek. Tiles were dislodged at The Strand promenade in Sliema/Gzira. Some small boats in Spinola were smashed to pieces. Winds were averaging Force 8 and gusting Force 10 in exposed areas. Our weather station at Mellieha in fact measured gusts by to 96.2km/h.

At the Jews Sally Port, below the Valletta bastions, a Toyota Vitz was almost washed away by the waves, which carried it onto the rocks. The driver, a 70-year-old man from Valletta, was lucky to escape unhurt, having been assisted out of the car by SAG police who happened to be on a patrol nearby. At St Julians traffic had to be diverted because of seawater on the road while at Marsascala a kiosk had window panes broken and plastic chairs and tables scattered over a wide area.

The police also reported that a 59-year-old Italian resident of Naxxar was injured in the afternoon when he was hit by a water tank as he walked along High Street, St Julians. He was taken to hospital where his injuries were found not to be serious. The tank is thought to have been blown by the wind. Photos of the rough sea can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

On 18th January 2008, at around 8.205am a small tornado was seen briefly to the WNW of San Gwann for about 5 minutes. There also was a report of the same tornado to the southwest of Maghtab over Madliena. Yet another report and photos show the tornado just off the coast at Sliema at around 8.15am. The clouds and tornado were moving NE-SW. As can be seen from the sounding and hodograph to the right there was an unusual type of wind shear - anticlockwise wind shear, but this was enough to create this brief tornado. Weather at the time of the tornado was isolated showers with small hail - there were no reports of any strong wind or damage caused. Photos of the funnel cloud can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

On 29th December 2007, in the afternoon and throughout the night, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms caused lots of flooding in the usual low-lying areas of Malta and Gozo, with some people having to be rescued from their cars. Fields were flooded and some rubble walls collapsed. Various telephone connections were also damaged. The beach at Ramla Bay in Gozo was carved out by the flood waters. In excess of 100mm was recorded within a period of 24 hours from noon of the 29th to noon of 30th December. The highest rainfall was recorded in Mellieha with 165.8mm. This heavy rainfall was caused by a low pressure system over the central Mediterranean which was practically stationary due to very light upper level winds. Photos of the hail can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

On 16th November 2007, in the morning around 8.30am, a severe thunderstorm caused some havoc in Gozo with heavy rain showers and large hail about 1 inch in diameter. The large hail dented cars and destroyed crops. A brief waterspout was also seen from Gozo. Strong lightning from this super cell cumulonimbus cloud was also present in various localities. During the storm gusts of 93.3km/h and 74.0km/h were recorded at Mellieha and Zebbug Malta respectively. The storms were caused due to strong wind shear and very moist and unstable air over the Maltese Islands. A warm and moist surface SSE airflow together with a drier and cool upper air westerly flow contributed to this severe weather. The wind shear situation was in fact very similar to that found in the USA in spring, as can also be confirmed from the hodograph.. CAPE readings were over 1200J/kg with a lifted index of -4.8 (click on sounding to the right). Photos of the hail can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

Gale force winds buffetted the island on 22 October 2007, giving the Civil Protection Department a busy time as trees were uprooted and moored boats sank. The force eight wind howled throughout the night as thunder and lightening ripped through the sky. CPD head Peter Cordina said his men were kept busy clearing roads from fallen trees and branches. One man had a lucky escape when his boat, moored in St Julians, sank.  "The man got onto another boat to try and save his own, but unfortunately that boat started to sink too," Mr Cordina said. In the end, members of the CPD had to come to his rescue. A number of other boats were torn away from their moorings and met the same fate, he said.

Three electricity poles were toppled over during the night, a spokesman for Enemalta said. The wind also pushed down a periphery wall surrounding part of Mater Dei Hospital.  On Sunday night the police reported that branches ripped off a tree fell onto a moving car and the two occupants had to be treated for shock.

This strong WNW winds with gusts of over 100km/h at Melieha was caused by a Mediterranean Cyclone that formed over Sicily due to the bitter cold northerly winds clashing with the warm Mediterranean Sea. Rainfall totals were not especially high with mean rainfall only 22mm or so, but at one time during this storm, around 10pm or so at Cirkewwa, it seemed like a hurricane with torrential rainfall and very strong winds, as witnessed by Mark and Chris. Photos of the storm can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

On 20th October 2007, a large waterspout was seen to the northeast of Qala, Gozo at around 9.30am. This lasted about 10 minutes. The cloud that produced this waterspout seemed to be a large cumulus as no lightning strikes were reported from this particular cloud. The was a negatively-tilted upper-level trough to the north and speed shear was definitely present (see sounding to the right). The lifted index was of -3.0 with a CAPE of almost 1000J/kg. Sea temperature was a warm 23°C. This paticular cloud moved WNW-ESE and did not affect any land area of the Maltese Islands. Photos of the cloudy and its associated waterspout can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

On 25th June 2007, a short-wave upper-level trough produced an Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) which passed over the Maltese Islands during the early morning causing heavy thundery rain showers and blustery gusts especially over Gozo. Cars with people inside were carried away by the flood waters at Bahar ic-Caghaq, while strong gusts broke off some big tree branches in Gozo between Nadur and Victoria. Some big boulders at Dahlet Qorrot in Gozo were dislodged by the rain and these crashed down in front of some boat houses. Luckily no one was injured in any of these incidents. Today’s heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were caused due to an short-wave upper-level low pressure system which passed quickly over the central Mediterranean bringing relatively cold air over a warm sea, creating a great deal of instability with lots of clouds and heavy rain showers and thunderstorms. There was lots of moisture in the atmosphere and the lifted index was of -5.8 and CAPE of 1751J/Kg (click on sounding to the right).  Some rainfall totals for this storm (from around 5am to 10pm) for some localities were: Bahar ic-Caghaq 40.8mm, Kalkara 30.6mm, Zurrieq 30.4mm, Nadur 50.4mm, Zebbug Gozo 50.8mm, Gharb 59.8mm. Photos of the storm can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

On 4th June 2007, heavy rain showers and thunderstorms struck Malta causing lots of flooding in the usual low-lying areas of Malta with cars being carried away by the flood waters too. Some small hail also fell in a few localities. Photos of an uncofirmed funnel clouds can also be seen in the photo gallery. Today’s heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were caused due to an upper-level low pressure system over the central Mediterranean bringing relatively cold air over a warm sea, creating a great deal of instability with lots of clouds and heavy rain showers and thunderstorms. There was lots of moisture in the atmosphere and the lifted index was of -3.1 and CAPE of 884J/Kg (click on sounding to the right). Worst hit were the extreme south and the central parts of the island. Some rainfall totals for the whole day (from around 9am to 6pm) for some localities were: Zurrieq 99.2mm, Bahar ic-Caghaq 97.8mm, Iklin 90.0mm, San Gwann 83.9mm, Naxxar 76.0mm, Qormi 73.8mm, Balzan 68.0mm, Msida 63.6mm, Siggiewi 62.6mm. Gozo had hardly any rain!  This storm broke all records for June and has already made June 2007 the wettest June ever since rainfall records began in Valletta in 1865! The previous wettest June was in 1915 with 34.5mm of rainfall. Photos of the storms and floods can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

On 24th December 2006, in the morning, severe thunderstorms caused some havoc in Malta with heavy rain showers and flooding in the usual low-lying areas of Malta. Strong lightning and large hail was also present in various localities. Hail at least one inch in size (see photo) fell in Gzira damaging some cars parked there. There was also a report of a funnel cloud close to the airport. Gusts of 82km/h were recorded at Zebbug and 88.5km/h at Mellieha. The storms were caused due to strong wind shear and very moist and unstable air over the Maltese Islands. A warm and moist surface southeasterly airflow together with a drier and cool upper air flow contributed to this severe weather. The wind shear situation was in fact very similar to that found in the USA in spring. CAPE readings were over 900J/kg with a lifted index of -4.6 (click on sounding to the right). Photos of the storms and damage can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

An isolated thunderstorm moving in from the northwest affected the Maltese Islands, especially Gozo, where heavy rain caused severe flooding and an unconfirmed tornado at Xlendi. An unconfirmed tornado was also reported at Golden Bay, while 1cm hail was reported at Qrendi. Winds were very strong during this storm with a gust of 107km/h (57 knots) at Mellieha at around 4.10pm. The unconfirmed brief tornado at Xlendi  uprooted some trees and brought down a few rubble walls. The small sandy beach at Xlendi was also practically washed away by the floodwaters. The heaviest rainfall was reported in Zebbug 86.2mm, Marsalforn 54.0mm, Victoria 41.0mm and Sannat 34.4mm. A relatively weak dry line oriented southwest-northeast was present together with a lifted index of -6.6 and a CAPE of over 2000J/kg. The hodograph was oriented southwest-northeast too indicating that a good wind shear was present (click on sounding to the right).  Photos of the damage at Xlendi can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

An isolated thunderstorm moving in from the northeast affected the extreme northeast of Malta, especially Marsascala, Zabbar and the Cottonera area. Heavy rainfall was measured in these areas lasting for about 2 hours in Marsascala from 11.30am to 1.30pm. Rainfall measured was 46.0mm at Marsascala, 28.2mm at Vittoriosa and 25.0mm at Zabbar. A waterspout lasting about 10 minutes was also seen over St Thomas Bay, Marsascala at around 11.45am. This storm was caused due to a dry line that was oriented northwest-southeast, denoting a sharp contrast between very humid air on one side and much drier air on the other side. During this storm it was noted that the wind was blowing from the southwest over much of Malta, with gusts up to 33.3km/h at Zebbug at 12.12pm (during the height of the storm). This definitely helped the inflow into this storm.  Photos of the waterspout at St Thomas Bay can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

It was extremely windy from late 31st January till early 1st February as a low pressure system moving slowing to our east intensified suddenly to 993hPa, causing very strong northeasterly winds over the Maltese Islands. Highest gusts were 81.4km/h at the Airport, 70.3km/h at Rabat, 75.9km/h at Msida, 82.0km/h at Nadur, and at Mellieha an extremely high gust of 109.2km/h (Force 11)! Winds were averaging Force 9 gusting Force 11 over exposed areas of the Maltese Islands.

It was inevitable that such strong winds would cause damage in several areas. Civil Protection Department chief Peter Cordina said that the department had received reports of uprooted trees, electricity cables and poles, collapsed stone rubble walls and twisted television aerials. A car suffered extensive damage when a tree fell onto it, although no one was injured, and part of the wall in the Regional Road tunnel in the direction of Swieqi was also damaged. Photos of the rough seas on this day can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

Malta once again bore the brunt of heavy rain and thunderstorms as roads flooded on Tuesday morning.  Albeit being a public holiday, this morning's heavy rain caught many people by surprise, bringing the traffic to a standstill in many areas. During the storm, the emergency number was down, the police said.  A tornado was also reported at Marsascala in the early morning. Photos of the damage caused by this tornado can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic.

During the heavy downpour, which began just after 0500CET, an average of 55.1 millimeters of rain fell in approximately four hours. In fact, the highest rainfall was at Msida with 91.5mm. Several roads were closed, as a number of areas known for flooding problems were temporarily cut off. These included Msida, Balzan, Birkirkara, Marsa and areas in the south of Malta.

Members of the Civil Protection Department and Armed Forces personnel braved the heavy rain to assist people, mainly motorists, who found themselves in difficulty whilst driving through flooded areas. An official spokesman for the Civil Protection Department said that a house in Gzira collapsed and a big wall in Valley Road was knocked down by flood waters. No one was injured.

A thunderstorm affecting mainly Gozo and Mellieha early this afternoon produced heavy rainfall, hail up to 1.5cm large (if the hail had been just 4mm larger it would have qualified as a severe thunderstorm!) and strong gusts of wind. Rotation of the cloud base was also noted. Photos of this hail can be viewed by clicking on the camera pic. Rainfall from this storm was estimated at around 10mm.

A thunderstorm with gusts up to 43.5 knots (80.3 km/h) at Mellieha hit the Maltese Islands early this morning. The thunderstorm passed at around 6.30am but did not last long. Lightning was rather strong and flooding was reported in various localities, such as B'Kara and Msida. A high garden boundary wall in St Paul's Bay was demolished by an alleged brief  tornado, according to maltarightnow.com. Highest rainfall was in Valletta with 10.8 mm.

A thunderstorm hit the Maltese islands early in the morning, bringing with it torrential rainfall and severe lightning with lightning strikes hitting Mellieha and Nadur. The rains caused flooding on parts of the islands, leaving motorists stranded in their vehicles, reports Malta Media. To assist them, members of the Civil Protection Department were dispatched, as well as being on-hand to offer help with the traffic congestion caused. The timing of the storm did not help, with many caught up in the morning rush-hour when the heavy rain hit. Several valleys were also flooded during the storm. The Civil Protection Department assisted about 50 people including a group of students in Birkirkara, who were waiting for school transport during the heavy downpour. In Siggiewi, the newly-constructed road - which formed part of the 16kilometres of roads financed by the Fifth Italian Protocol -- overflowed with waste water as the water lifted all the manhole covers. In Hamrun, the ceiling of a house collapsed but no one was injured. Strong straight-line gusts of 44.0 knots (81.4 km/h) were recorded at Luqa Airport and Rabat during the storm. Highest rainfall was 82.2 mm at Nadur, Gozo. Click on the camera pic above to view photos taken of this storm from Xlendi, Gozo.

Many areas of the Maltese Islands were hit by a squall line, where the wind changed direction and increased in speed very quickly. At one time gusts were reaching 37.8 knots (70km/h). It was around 7.50am when the calm summer atmosphere took a sudden turn for the worse when the light southeasterly wind was replaced by a very strong northwesterly wind, together with some isolated rain showers, low clouds and even some fog. The strong wind shocked some people as they heard their shutters banging and saw outside furniture and potted plants tossed around. Large trees were also swaying in the strong wind. This however lasted just 6 minutes or so.

An alleged tornado  was reported by maltarightnow.com at Safi early in the afternoon today. The alleged tornado only lasted a few moments and developed while some parents were waiting for their children at the local primary school. Witnesses said that the wind increased suddenly and lots of dust and bits and pieces were blown into the air, while others found it difficult to walk and had to shelter behind a wall. No damage was reported. This website concludes that this was more likely to be a strong straight-line wind rather than a tornado.