• With 246.2 mm of rainfall, October became third wettest since 1922
• The wettest day of the year fell in November, producing 70.4 mm of rainfall
• Only the meteorological autumn was wetter than the climate norm
• February yielded 4.0 mm of rainfall, becoming one of the driest Februaries on record

The precipitation year 2021-2022 had 69 rainy days, which produced 578.8 mm of rainfall. Following two considerably drier-than-average precipitation years, the total amount of rainfall measured between September 2021 and August 2022 exceeded the 1991-2020 climate norm by 34.8 mm.

Almost 43 per cent of the precipitation year’s total rainfall was measured in October. Having drenched the Maltese Islands in 246.2 mm of rainfall, October was the year’s wettest month, and went down on the Meteorological Office’s records as the third wettest October since 1922. November, on the other hand, accounted for the wettest day of the precipitation year, with the twenty-fifth day of the month dumping 70.4 mm of rain on the islands as a trough of low pressure extended from Algeria to the central Mediterranean before moving eastwards.

The first three months of the precipitation year, which make up the meteorological autumn, produced 413.2 mm of rainfall and exceeded the seasonal norm. The meteorological autumn was, in fact, the wettest autumn since 1999 when 473.1 mm of precipitation had been measured. This wet start to the precipitation year did not trickle into the other seasons, with the meteorological winter, spring and summer all delivering less rainfall than their respective climate norms.

All three winter months were drier than average, producing a total of 115.8 mm of rainfall, or just under half the rainfall expected during the season. Last winter was the seventh consecutive winter to yield a total rainfall amount that fell below the seasonal norm. While all three winter months were drier than their respective climate norms, February’s paltry 4.0 mm of rainfall put the month among the driest Februaries on the Meteorological Office’s records.

During the second half of the precipitation year, the Meteorological Office measured just 49.8 mm of rain with almost half of this amount being collected in March (23.8 mm). The driest three months of the precipitation year were June (0.0 mm), July (0.2 mm) and April (2.0 mm).

Published on: 27.09.22