March weather in Malta: warmer afternoons, restless winds and a springtime plot twist

Spring arrived, but it did not travel alone

March in Malta can produce the sort of afternoon that encourages a confident wardrobe decision. It can also produce the next afternoon. Our 2025 archive contains warmer spells, a distinctly busy wind forecast and rain episodes that prevent the month from being summarised as the simple end of winter.

At Mosta, the 29 complete days available averaged 15.6°C. The average daily high was 17.6°C and the average daily low 13.8°C. Those figures sit above February’s covered-days values and show a clear increase in the general temperature level within this year’s sequence.

The archive has no March 2024 comparison. Two dates in the 2025 temperature series lack complete coverage, and rain coverage is complete for those 29 dates. The charts retain those gaps. With that brief context established, the interesting part is the variety within the month: the warmest afternoon and one of its wettest episodes were only a day apart.

Warm enough for a change of pace

The highest hourly temperature at Mosta was 23.1°C on March 24. The lowest was 11.3°C late on March 30. A spread of nearly twelve degrees between those endpoints gives March a different personality from the narrower general temperature level suggested by the mean.

A maximum above 23°C can make a sheltered daytime stop feel like an early preview of another season. It does not make the late-month low disappear. Daytime warmth, overnight conditions and the direction of the breeze all belong in the picture. A spring itinerary works better when it can accommodate more than one of them.

The average daily high of 17.6°C was well below the single warmest hour. That is worth remembering when choosing which figure best describes a whole visit. The peak tells you what appeared at the warm end of the archive; the average daily high tells you more about the background against which that peak stood out.

The warmer spell was not a straight line into summer

The first ten days averaged about 14.8°C in the Mosta series. The available middle ten averaged 16.1°C, while the final eleven averaged about 15.9°C. There was a rise from the opening part of the month, but the closing period did not simply accelerate upwards.

The daily chart helps put March 24’s warm peak into that wider profile. A high hourly value can sit within a run of days whose overall means are much less dramatic. Weather has an excellent talent for producing a memorable afternoon without providing a matching month-long guarantee.

The late March 30 low also belongs to the story. It shows why the closing date on a spring calendar cannot stand in for an actual forecast. If your stay falls near the end of the month, examine those days rather than assuming that each week must feel warmer than the one before. March was changing, but it was not following a tidy escalator.

March 23, 24 and 25: three different headlines

March 23 had the month’s highest hourly wind speed at Mosta, 16.1 m/s. March 24 then supplied its highest temperature, 23.1°C. March 25 supplied 23.0 mm in the complete daily rain series. That three-day sequence is a useful little portrait of the month’s range.

The figures do not establish that all the conditions happened at the same hour, or that one caused the next. They do show why the dates around a warm spell deserve a closer look. Someone remembering only March 24 could give a very different account from someone whose outdoor plans were concentrated on the following day.

For a short visit, this is more informative than a generic description of March as mild. A warm afternoon can share the same week with a windy outing and a substantial rain interruption. The archive links near the end of the article let you inspect the relevant dates and compare how the hourly picture changed.

A few larger episodes explain much of the rain story

Across the 29 dates with complete daily rain coverage, Mosta’s forecast amounts added up to 69.7 mm. Seven of those dates reached at least 1 mm. The largest amount was 23.0 mm on March 25, around 33% of that covered-days subtotal.

That combination gives March two distinct features: a relatively limited number of qualifying wet days and one sizeable contribution. The rainfall bars show those interruptions more clearly than a monthly adjective. Gaps are left empty, and the 69.7 mm figure should be read alongside its 29-day coverage rather than as a measured island-wide total.

For practical planning, watch when a wetter spell is expected to pass through. A spring day can contain an appealing outdoor window and an interval better spent elsewhere. Keep the order of activities flexible enough to use those windows. An umbrella can be part of the plan, but it should not have to manage the whole programme on its own.

Fourteen dates reached at least force 6

Average hourly wind speed at Mosta was 7.6 m/s, higher than the available February average of 6.0 m/s. Fourteen covered dates reached Beaufort force 6 or above, and the highest hourly value was 16.1 m/s, or force 7.

This was therefore a spring month whose wind story deserved as much attention as its temperature rise. “Warmer than February” did not automatically mean more settled, and a pleasantly mild reading could arrive with a breeze that changed the appeal of an exposed route.

Choose coastal plans using the direction as well as the speed. A walk with some shelter can be quite a different experience from a long open stretch, while sea conditions require their own forecast. For boat trips, the route and the return time matter. March’s warmest afternoon should not be asked to answer a question about the whole crossing.

March sat between a cooler February and a warmer April

The 2025 sequence at Mosta moves from a covered-days mean of 13.7°C in February to 15.6°C in March and 16.3°C in April. The average daily highs follow the same broad direction: 15.6°C, 17.6°C and 18.8°C.

The change from March to April was smaller than the change from February to March. That makes an interesting counterpoint to the dramatic warm hour on March 24. A month can contain a striking early taste of warmth while its overall level remains close to the surrounding spring conditions.

Across the available island points, March’s means were fairly close: 15.7°C at Sliema, 15.9°C at Marsaxlokk, 16.0°C at Victoria and 16.2°C at Comino. The shared seasonal movement is more useful than treating a few tenths of a degree as a precise guide to which village should receive your lunch reservation.

What to do with a month this changeable

March lends itself to plans that can move around within the day. Put the longest outdoor stretch where the hourly forecast offers the best combination of temperature, wind and rain. Keep a more sheltered stop available for a later change. The archive’s variety makes a persuasive case for a little flexibility.

Pack for the range of hours you expect to use, not just the warmest number on the page. An afternoon layer that can come off easily is more adaptable than a fixed commitment to summer clothes. Check the early or late hours if the day includes a boat departure, a long walk or an evening outside.

The March 2025 lesson is that spring was becoming warmer without becoming simple. The month offered a genuinely different temperature level from February, alongside active winds and distinct rain episodes. That is plenty of scope for an enjoyable visit, provided the plan can respond to the day in front of it. Spring had arrived; it had brought a small committee.

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