Met Department Warns Of Heavy Rainfall, Storms This Weekend

Most parts of the country will experience heavy in the next week. 

The Kenya Meteorological Department issued an advisory on the imminent occurrence of intense rainfall across various regions of the country over the next seven days.

According to the agency, the areas primarily affected will include Western, Lake Victoria Basin, Rift Valley, Central Highlands (including Nairobi), South Eastern, and the South Coast Region.

Isolated storm conditions are expected in the Highlands East of Rift Valley, Nairobi county, South Rift Valley, and the Eastern Lowlands, the department said.

North Eastern and North Western Kenya will predominantly encounter dry weather conditions during this period.

“Rains are expected to occasionally spread into the counties of Isiolo and Samburu. The northern parts of Turkana may experience light rainfalls on Monday and Tuesday,” the Meteorological department said.

The rains disrupted normalcy Friday and Saturday engulfing streets and estates in Nairobi, with some businesses forced to shut down temporarily.

Motorists and commuters similarly found themselves stranded due to impassable roads which halted transportation in different parts of the city.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry weather outlook for January 2024, indicates that Highlands East of the Rift Valley and Central Kenya are likely to experience occasional rainfall with some breaks during the month.

The rainfall is likely to exceed the long-term average amounts received during the same month in other years.

During the just-ended October-November-December Seasonal Rainfall, some counties were among the counties that were affected by landslides and mudslides.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development  Climate Prediction and Applications Center said the greater part of the Horn of Africa is expected to receive heavy rains between January and March 2024, with the weather pattern following recent El Nino rains.

The weatherman identified more than 30 counties expected to receive rain this month.

These include a few areas in western Kenya, especially those around the Lake Victoria basin (Siaya, Busia, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, Vihiga, Kakamega and Nandi), southern Rift Valley (Bomet, Kericho, Narok), and the south-eastern lowlands (Kajiado, Kitui, Makueni, Machakos and Taita Taveta).

The others are the highlands east of the Rift Valley (Nairobi, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kiambu, Meru, Tharaka Nithi and Embu) and the coastal region (Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Lamu and the Southern parts of Tana River).