March was the second wettest on record in the past 10 years, with rainfall exceeding the monthly average by almost 20 per cent, reports said yesterday.

Last month was also the coldest in six years, with temperatures at least half a degree Celsius lower than normal.

The first month of Spring also resulted in an impressive inflow of 26 million cubic metres of water into the island's dams, the second highest in the last twenty years.According to reports from 2001 until this year there were only two instances where rainfall for March was above the monthly average. In March 2003 when rainfall was 96.1 millimetres and again this year with rainfall levels as high as 72.7

The average rainfall for the month is 61.9 millimetres.

Every other year rainfall was well below the average with the worst year in 2004 when rainfall was just 0.8 millimetres.

According to today's data the rainfall of the current water year is 430.2 millimetres, or 98 per cent of the average total which is 437 millimetres.

Moreover for the first time in six years temperatures during March did not rise above normal for the season. Last year for example was the warmest March in six years during which the temperatures rose as much as four degrees higher than the average.

According to preliminary data this March appears to have averaged at half a degree lower than normal. Specifically temperatures for the month, bar the two last days of March, fluctuated between 17.5 and 18 degrees Celsius. The monthly average is 18.6 degrees Celsius.

In the meantime water flow into dams is continuing. Up until now during the month of March the inflow rose to 26 million cubic metres, two million less than February's inflow. It is the second highest inflow in the last twenty years. The best was in March 2002-2003 with 42 million cubic metres of water.

Dam capacity now stands at 29.6 per cent containing 86 cubic million metres of water. During the same period last year the water reserves were 32 million cubic metres or the equivalent to 11.3 per cent capacity.

The dam with most water is Kourris with 25.775 million cubic metres followed by Asprokremmos with 19.821 million cubic metres, Evretou with 11.032 million cubic metres, Kannaviou with 9.647 million cubic metres, Kalavasos with 2.475 million cubic metres and Yermasoyia with 5.9 million cubic metres.
Source:  Cyprus-Mail