Who stopped the rain?

Everybody is questioning when it will rain again and why are we having so much wind for this time of the year in the Bay?

Nobody expected all the rain in December, when all were complaining and asking when the unseasonal rain would stop.

The official rainfall figure at the airport was a mere 5.1mm for the month of February.

This makes it the third lowest total monthly rainfall for February in 124 years.

The lowest was 2.3mm measured in 1916.

It is one of only seven times in this period that the monthly total was less than 10 mm.

No wonder the public is asking if it is ever going to rain again, with the last water tank topping rain occurring more than a month ago, on January 16, when a mere 10mm of rain was measured.

The situation is bad over most areas of the Eastern Cape and especially the interior, which relies on summer rainfall to augment its water supply and groundwater reserves.

East London recorded one of the lowest February rainfalls on record.

The reason for the low rainfall figures is due to the lack of sufficient moisture being fed down from the tropics, caused by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) being further north than normal.

Added to that, upper air systems have not been favourable for thunderstorm development.

With a less than favourable seasonal forecast for below average rainfall until June, there is reason for concern.

On the plus side, statistics show that in most cases, after a disastrous February (monthly total less than 10mm), rainfall figures improve to above average in March.

With some rain forecast for the end of the weekend, this might just be a sign of good things to come.

As far as the wind is concerned, there can be no argument that there is a higherthan-normal prevalence of westerly winds.

The average wind speed of around 22km/h for the month, though not a record, was well above the norm.

The chances of this are quite rare with figures stronger than 22km/h occurring less than once every four years.

Residents will know that this is the time of the year that we get that sticky, hot and humid “Durban Weather”, which is driven by an easterly onshore flow of moisture.

We are not used to these gusty wintry westerlies at this time of the year.

I have even started wearing a light jacket on many days to combat the cooler temperature.

The cause of this is that there has been a higher incidence of weak cold fronts reaching our coastline.

Combined dam levels: Algoa System: 73.45% down from 74.3% last week

This week in history: 1992: Unseasonal extreme cold in the Middelburg area causes the death of more than 1,000 Angora goats.

Weather safety tips:

In dry periods, check your gutters for dry leaves. They are not only a problem during heavy rain, but also a fire hazard.