Janetta du Plessis het die afgelope Dinsdag die foto van 'n weerligstraal op die pad tussen Otavi en Grootfontein geneem. Grootfontein het egter toe net sowat 5 mm reën gehad.
Janetta du Plessis het die afgelope Dinsdag die foto van 'n weerligstraal op die pad tussen Otavi en Grootfontein geneem. Grootfontein het egter toe net sowat 5 mm reën gehad.

Promising rain outlook

Conditions for rain improving
Chances for rain look positive for the next two weeks, according to weather experts.
Elvira Hattingh
Weather experts are optimistic about the chances of rain for this and next week.

According to the Namibian Weather Office, Otavi and King Kauluma Village each received 32 mm of rain on Tuesday, the highest amount of rainfall recorded on Tuesday.

Otjiwarongo received 27.2mm of rain, Okaukuejo 25.8mm, Hohenfelde 25mm, King Nehale Lodge 24mm, Okahua 19mm, Fransfontein 17mm, the Katima Mulilo Air Force Base 14.4mm, Oshikango 13.4mm, Windhoek 11.6 mm, Otjikurume 11.5 mm and Outjo 10.2 mm.

Prospects for rain

The non-profit organisation LandWater, which scientifically analyses and interprets satellite photos, has shared weather maps over the past few days showing that moisture conditions are improving, especially in the far central northern parts of Namibia.

On Sunday, LandWater shared another map of developing thunderstorms over Namibia, with the explanation: "Preparation for a beautiful new week for Namibia and an even wilder follow-up week.”

Good and bad

The independent agricultural meteorologist, Johan van den Berg, also said that the conditions for rain are improving for the south of Angola as well as the far northern parts of the country.

"In the last week of January, this weather can expand further southward as well as in a south-eastern direction, with the heaviest precipitation over the north-eastern parts of the country," he said.

"It looks as though there may still be a bit of rain, especially in the central and northern parts of Namibia, in February, while in March and April we may have below-average rain."

Van den Berg however said that there is still uncertainty about long-term prospects. "The La Niña weather phenomenon has begun to weaken, but more slowly than most forecasts indicated.

"Over the long term, we will probably experience neutral Enso conditions... while there is even a possibility that El Niño conditions could occur.”

Goodbye

This follows after the La Niña weather phenomenon dominated global weather patterns for three years, which in itself was a somewhat unusual phenomenon. Van den Berg previously explained that La Niña is often associated with "wetter than usual" conditions in southern Africa.

Enso is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern and refers to the interaction between the tropical Pacific Ocean and the atmospheric conditions in this area, which together have an influence on global weather and climate patterns.

A transition from La Niña conditions to more neutral Enso conditions is expected to occur between February and April this year, with an 82% chance that neutral conditions will occur between March and May, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In contrast, El Niño conditions are often accompanied by an increased risk of drought and floods all over the world.

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-30

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