Staff Reporter
THE short cold spell experienced in some areas of the country will be followed by east wind conditions, particularly along the coastal areas, while rainstorms devastate the southern parts of Western and Eastern Cape in South Africa.
The South African Weather Service has issued a Level 9 orange warning for more disruptive rain expected over the southwestern parts of the Eastern Cape Province and the adjacent interior. This warning indicates the likelihood of widespread flooding, rainfall exceeding 100 millimetres (mm), and full catchments that may cause further downstream flooding.
These extreme weather conditions are a result of a cut-off low-pressure system that intensified this past weekend. These conditions have also impacted the weather in Namibia over the past week, although not as severely as in South Africa.
While last week’s rainfall was primarily concentrated in the north-eastern regions of Namibia, this weekend saw the rain shift its focus to the western and southern parts of the country, where some areas received light to moderate rainfall on Saturday and Sunday.
Uis in the Erongo Region is one of the places that stands out in this regard. According to the Namibia Meteorological Services, Uis recorded 42 mm of rain between Friday and Saturday morning alone.
However, Uis is not the only place in the Erongo Region that recorded impressive rainfall figures this weekend. The Namibia Meteorological Services revealed that Omaruru, which had already received about 1.3 mm of rain before Friday, received a total of 44.4 mm of rain between Friday and Monday morning. The majority of this rainfall, specifically 27.2 mm, was recorded between Saturday and Sunday morning alone.
The //Kharas Region was also not exempt from this weekend’s rainy conditions. According to the Namibia Meteorological Services, Koës recorded 14 mm of rain between Friday and Saturday, while Karasburg received 3.9 mm of rain between Saturday and Sunday.
Further information and footage shared by weather enthusiasts on social media indicated that the southern towns of Rosh-Pinah and Oranjemund also experienced light rainfall this weekend. In fact, according to Facebook user Visser du Preez, Oranjemund recorded 11 mm of rain between Sunday and Monday.
While most of the rain was concentrated in the western and southern parts of the country this weekend, other areas also received light rainfall.
In the Oshana Region, Oshakati, which had recorded about 0.8 mm of rain before the weekend, received an additional 1.4 mm of rain between Saturday and Sunday, followed by another 0.2 mm of rain between Sunday and Monday morning. Furthermore, in the Kunene Region, Sesfontein, Khorixas, and Outjo recorded 1.3 mm, 0.6 mm, and 0.4 mm of rain, respectively, between Saturday and Sunday morning.
Some central areas also experienced light rainfall this weekend. This includes Windhoek, where certain parts witnessed light drizzling on Saturday. While this only amounted to 0.1 mm of rain, the drizzle still had an impact as it disrupted and halted a cricket match that was taking place at the Trustco United Field in Olympia between the Namib Desert Lions and the Windhoek Jets on Saturday.
Claratal, also in the Khomas Region, received slightly more rain than the capital city this weekend, recording 0.5 mm of rain in total between Friday and Sunday.
In addition to the rain, another noteworthy meteorological factor that made an impact this weekend was the wind. The Namibia Meteorological Services predicted that this is likely to continue, particularly in the coastal areas, which should expect easterly wind conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Leave a Reply