Sudden storms and soaking rains are here to stay

With La Niña in play, expect more unpredictable downpours. Don’t get caught without an umbrella.

There were probably more than a few Joburg residents caught on the hop on Wednesday, having looked at the weather forecast of a 30% chance of rain, only to get deluged by the massive cloudburst which hit from late afternoon.

But, just as it would be easy to blame the forecasters for getting it wrong, these phenomena are difficult to predict.

In a place like Gauteng – which is one of the world’s worst places for violent thunderstorms – local air conditions and topography can breed a cloudburst, which is defined as a storm which dumps 100mm or more of rain in an hour.

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And it can appear out of nowhere, developing in hours.

Whether or not this incidence is anything to do with climate change is debatable, but we are certainly experiencing the effects of a La Nina climate pattern so far this year.

In southern Africa, this pattern is associated with increased rainfall while El Nino brings drier weather and droughts.

Whatever the reason for Wednesday’s downpour, it is a reminder that nature is often unpredictable.

Therefore, the watchword has to be: Be prepared.

You’ll miss your umbrella if it’s not there when one of these cloudbursts suddenly arrives.

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