Thursday, December 22, 2011

Heavy rainfall in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam experienced extremely heavy rainfall yesterday, with one source reporting a 24-hour total at the airport of 233 mm. An article in The Muslim News quotes a Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) source reporting 156.4 mm. Either one is apparently the highest 24-hour amount since the mid 1950s.

Flooding and lightning strikes have killed at least 20 people according to the BBC, and left thousands homeless. The event has reportedly crippled the city of Dar, destroying considerable infrastructure. TMA forecasts the heavy rains to continue over the region.

Snowfall data and accounts from Kilimanjaro are not available yet. Being convective in nature, the heavy rainfall may not be widespread.
 
[UPDATE 12/30 & 1/3/12:  Snowfall began at the station on Wed., 28 Dec. and continued to the 31st. Telemetry indicates ~11cm of accumulation for the event, which is certainly a significant snowfall by Kilimanjaro standards. Tim from SENE was recently on the mountain, so perhaps we'll have a first-hand report soon.]

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