Africa-Press – Namibia. A SUDDEN thunderstorm late on Monday evening in and around towns of Namibia’s central northern areas is an indication of a good rainy season ahead. Residents of places such as Otavi, Kalklfeld and Otjiwarongo were surprised by the unexpected downpour because of colder weather conditions that were predicted for large parts of the country for the coming weekend.
According to the Chief Weather Forecaster of the Namibia Meteorological Service, Odillo Kgobetsi said the sudden downpours, also known as mesoscale rain, were the result of tropical moisture breaking through from the central parts of Africa.
Kgobetsi noted that there is currently an upper air trough bringing moist air in over Angola and a low-pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean which creates the perfect conditions for the mesoscale rains.
The weather forecaster indicated that the long term rain forecasting model shows that the bulk of the countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)region is likely to receive high rainfall termed normal to above-normal between October and December, although north-western Angola, the bulk of the Democratic Republic of Congo, eastern Madagascar, northern Malawi, northern Mozambique, Seychelles, United Republic of Tanzania, and north-eastern Zambia will receive low rainfall termed normal to below-normal.
He explained that above-normal rainfall is defined as being within the wettest third of historically recorded rainfall amounts, while below-normal is within the driest third of rainfall amounts and normal is rainfall within the middle third.
