Brace for heavy rainfalls until June, weatherman warns
National
By
Okumu Modachi
| Feb 29, 2024
Kenyans have been urged to brace themselves for heavy rainfall that is expected to continue in most parts of the country until June, this year.
Kenya Meteorological Department Director David Gikungu on Thursday warned the public to prepare adequately to avert challenges associated with heavy rains like floods.
"The peak of the rain season is expected to be in April for most regions except over the coastal strip whose peak is expected in May," said Gikungu, while issuing a weather forecast update on Thursday.
The Met Director said "we will see flash floods and flooding in cities and traditional flood-prone areas" of North Eastern, parts of the Coastal region, Lake Victoria region and Lower Yala among others.
Effects of the rains have already been witnessed in parts of Nairobi where the heavy rains caused traffic snarl-ups.
The Tuesday heavy downpour saw Kiambu road blocked by fallen trees and power poles leaving commuters stranded and others injured in the mayhem.
During the update, Gikungu highlighted that the regions of highlands of the West of Rift Valley, L. Victoria basin, Central and South Rift and Nairobi will experience rainfall above the season's long-term average.
Areas of South Eastern and Coastal parts of Kenya, he noted, should expect to begin experiencing high amounts of rainfall from the third to fourth week of March.
He, however, acknowledged that there may be variations in rainfall distribution across the country.
According to the weather agency, the period is the major rainy season in Kenya and parts of equatorial seasonal region in Africa
The weatherman observed that this year's long term rainy season forecast indicates similar characteristics with patterns of the years 1998, 2010 and 2016.
"The predicted onsets, cessations and distribution of rainfall were derived from global climate models where we did a number of ranks...statistical analysis of past years which showed similar characteristics with the current year."
The weatherman further announced that the rainy season will be characterised by warm temperatures with "increased probability over the coastal and northern parts of the country."
According to the weatherman, this is seen as the region's climate trend as 2023 went on record as the warmest year, a trend expected to continue this year.
These weather predictions of heavy rainfalls come barely two months after the country experienced El Nino rains.
The October-December rains wreaked havoc in most parts of the country, with the floods killing more than 160 people and disrupting livelihoods.