If you’ve been wondering how Storm Harry suddenly made its way to Malta, and why it packed such a punch, the answer lies in a rare mix of weather conditions across Europe and the Mediterranean.

According to Maltese Islands Weather, a strong high-pressure system over north-eastern Europe acted like a giant roadblock, disrupting the usual west-to-east flow of weather systems. With nowhere else to go, a low-pressure system moving in from the Atlantic was pushed southwards, straight into the western Mediterranean, where sea temperatures are still relatively warm.

Once over the Mediterranean, the storm found the perfect conditions to intensify quickly, namely cold air high up in the atmosphere, coupled with warm, moisture-rich sea surfaces and strong pressure differences caused by the nearby high-pressure system. Together, these factors supercharged the low-pressure system, turning it into what we now know as Storm Harry.

The sharp pressure differences generated very strong winds and high waves, while persistent onshore winds dragged in heavy rain, leading to severe weather across parts of southern Europe and the central Mediterranean, Malta included.

Many have been asking: why the name ‘Harry’? Storm Harry was named as part of Europe’s official storm-naming system, which helps meteorological services communicate risks more clearly. Despite the dramatic name, it wasn’t a hurricane or tropical storm, but a mid-latitude Mediterranean storm.

At its peak, wind gusts over land exceeded 100 km/h, making Harry one of the more intense storms to hit the Maltese Islands in recent years... no wonder it left such a mark.

What was your experience of the storm?