East African Gazette
Entebbe
The Executive Director Uganda Meteorological Authority, Bob Ogwang has hailed Manafwa Washing Bay station in Manafwa district for having the highest amount of 50.5 mm this year
A substantial rainfall was experienced in Kigezi, Lake Victoria Basin and Eastern parts, Ogwang said.
This was followed by Karengere station in Rubanda district and Entebbe Water Resource Department in Wakiso district with amounts of 222.1 mm, 194.4mm and -155mm, respectively.
The lowest rainfall was experienced at Ruhengyere station in Kiruhura district, Nyabyeya Forest station in Masindi district and Butiaba station in Buliisa district all with 0. 0mm.Ogwang said the February rainfall indicates many parts of the country are likely to remain generally dry and sunny with hazy conditions.
However, occasional rainfall is expected in areas of South-Western and around Lake Victoria basin, Ogwang said.
The temperatures are expected to be warmer than average over most parts of the country, He said.
“February is generally characterized by dry and sunny weather conditions over most parts of the country. It is also associated with high day temperatures and higher than average temperatures are usually recorded” he said.
The rainfall outlook for the month of February 2024 indicates a likelihood of dry, sunny and hazy conditions to persist over most parts of the country.
However, areas around the South-Western sub region are likely to experience wetter conditions and isolated parts around Central Lake Victoria basin stretching.
“The current strong El Nino conditions have persisted. Equatorial sea surface temperatures are above average across the Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean. The Pacific atmospheric anomalies are consistent with El Nino with a transition to ENSO-neutral favored during the next couple of months.
The areas along the Indian border have fallen below the threshold and are returning to neutral state during the month of February. The local and regional physical features, including water bodies, vegetation and highlands, and their generated circulation systems.
The highest maximum temperatures are likely to range from 30 oc to 32 oc and above over most parts of the Northern, Eastern and around Kyoga basin, while the rest of the country are likely to experience temperatures in the range of 24 oc to 28 oc.
The highland areas of Rwenzori, Elgon and Kigezi are likely to experience cooler temperatures in the range o/ 8 oc to 22 oc.
The minimum temperatures for this month are expected to range between 200C to 260C over the northern half of the country. The rest of the country is likely to experience minimum temperatures below 20 oc.
The mean temperature from 24 oc to 28 oc is expected for northern Uganda while half of the country is the range of 20 oc to 24 oc is expected over the Southern half of the country for the month of February, 2024.
However, the Western rift valley parts are expected to experience higher temperatures in the range of 28 oc to 30 oc
The analysis of observed rainfall for the month of January, 2024 revealed that the spillover of September to December seasonal rainfall continued in most parts of the country during the month of January which is always associated with dry conditions.
The areas that received substantial rainfall included Kigezi highlands, Lake Victoria basin and Eastern parts of the country.
The highest amount of rainfall during the month was recorded at Kabale station with a total of 249.4mm.
The Entebbe Water Resource Department station in Wakiso district and Karengere station in Rubanda district experienced the highest number of rain day activity with an observation of 19 days each in the month.
This was followed by Bududa station, Pubanda station, Ikelwe station in Mayuge district, Manafwa Washing Bay station in Manafwa district and Kabale station all with four days of rainfall during the month of January 2024.
The highest rainfall recorded in a single day was at Atira station in Serere district with 45.7mn on 11thJanuary 2024 and Buginyanya station in Bulambuli district with rainfall of 44.7 on 26thJanuary.