News / Local
It'll be wet wet wet as La Nina grips Matabeleland, Midlands and Masvingo
23 Nov 2011 at 12:00hrs | Views
MOST parts of the country received significant rains on Monday, bringing relief to farmers and cooling temperatures after a persistent heat wave.
However, the Meteorological Services Department could not give exact dates of the onset and cessation of the rainy season.
Plumtree recorded 64mm, Beitbridge 48mm, Hwange 40mm, Victoria Falls 38mm, Tsholotsho 29mm and Kezi 25mm.
A cloud band that moved into the western parts of the country from the west last Saturday resulted in showers at the weekend.
Notable falls were recorded at Matopos with 31mm and Bulawayo Goetz Observatory with 25mm. As from Monday, the cloud band moved to cover the whole country and this resulted in moderate to heavy falls across the country.
The current cloud system that was over the country was expected to persist up to November 30 with heavy falls expected on December 1 and 2, marking the beginning of the wet season. Pressure rises over the southeast of the sub region should cause convergence across the country from Thursday to Friday, resulting in heavy falls.
The rains will be mostly confined to the south of the main watershed areas such as Masvingo, Matabeleland South, South of Midlands and Bulawayo.
The summer rainfall regions of Southern Africa are in for wet weather, as an episode of the weather phenomenon La Nina settles in for the rest of the season, the SA Weather Service said on Wednesday.
"La Nina will intensify in January and February over the summer rainfall areas, but should clear in March," senior forecaster Jan Vermeulen said.
La Nina (meaning "the girl") is also sometimes known as "anti-El Nino" - as its effects are usually the opposite of those experienced during El Nino ("the boy") which heralds a dry period.
La Nina and El Nino result from the interaction between ocean and atmospheric conditions.
While El Nino in Southern Africa is associated with warmer than usual seas in the eastern Pacific, La Nina - usually preceded by an El Nino period - is triggered by cooler ocean temperatures.
The two are mutually dependent, and they are collectively referred to as the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
El Nino is associated with dry conditions, but the onset on an episode of La Nina leads to normal or above normal precipitation.
The last half of a La Nina episode is typically wetter, so the rainy weather experienced lately through most of the country could be expected to intensify towards the end of the year and into the beginning of 2012.
However, the Meteorological Services Department could not give exact dates of the onset and cessation of the rainy season.
Plumtree recorded 64mm, Beitbridge 48mm, Hwange 40mm, Victoria Falls 38mm, Tsholotsho 29mm and Kezi 25mm.
A cloud band that moved into the western parts of the country from the west last Saturday resulted in showers at the weekend.
Notable falls were recorded at Matopos with 31mm and Bulawayo Goetz Observatory with 25mm. As from Monday, the cloud band moved to cover the whole country and this resulted in moderate to heavy falls across the country.
The current cloud system that was over the country was expected to persist up to November 30 with heavy falls expected on December 1 and 2, marking the beginning of the wet season. Pressure rises over the southeast of the sub region should cause convergence across the country from Thursday to Friday, resulting in heavy falls.
The rains will be mostly confined to the south of the main watershed areas such as Masvingo, Matabeleland South, South of Midlands and Bulawayo.
The summer rainfall regions of Southern Africa are in for wet weather, as an episode of the weather phenomenon La Nina settles in for the rest of the season, the SA Weather Service said on Wednesday.
"La Nina will intensify in January and February over the summer rainfall areas, but should clear in March," senior forecaster Jan Vermeulen said.
La Nina (meaning "the girl") is also sometimes known as "anti-El Nino" - as its effects are usually the opposite of those experienced during El Nino ("the boy") which heralds a dry period.
La Nina and El Nino result from the interaction between ocean and atmospheric conditions.
While El Nino in Southern Africa is associated with warmer than usual seas in the eastern Pacific, La Nina - usually preceded by an El Nino period - is triggered by cooler ocean temperatures.
The two are mutually dependent, and they are collectively referred to as the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
El Nino is associated with dry conditions, but the onset on an episode of La Nina leads to normal or above normal precipitation.
The last half of a La Nina episode is typically wetter, so the rainy weather experienced lately through most of the country could be expected to intensify towards the end of the year and into the beginning of 2012.
Source - Byo24News I Sapa
