‘Cold spell to clear by Monday’

cold-weather-ahead_road-sign_9051379Auxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter—
THE cold spell being experienced across the country is set to continue today and tomorrow, with weatherman forecasting that skies will only clear on Monday. The unexpected rains received in many parts of the country do not signal the start of the rainy season, the Meteorological Services Department said yesterday.

The Chief Meteorological officer Jonathan Chifuna said high temperatures of up to 37°C for Chiredzi that were experienced during the last few days had resulted in thunderstorm activity being reported in Matabeleland South and areas around Bulawayo. At around 7PM yesterday, temperatures in Bulawayo dropped to 12, 2°C from the previous 30°C when there were high temperatures.

“Pressure rises occurred to the south-east of the sub-continent and these caused a cool and moist southerly airflow to move into the country. These resulted in cloudy and windy conditions. But because of the high temperatures that we had been experiencing during the last few days (Up to 37°C at Zaka and Chiredzi) this resulted in thunderstorm activity being reported in Matabeleland South and areas around Bulawayo,” said Chifuna.

“The provinces to the south and east (Manicaland, Masvingo, south of the Midlands, Matabeleland South) had drizzle and rain. The cloud system moved to cover the country by Friday, September 4, 2015. Maximum temperatures fell significantly.” He said by Monday, there should be a clearing across the country following the cold spell and the rains.

“Kezi recorded 14mm, Goetz Observatory (Ascot) 9mm Matopos/Chipinge 8mm West Nicholson/Chiredzi 7mm and Zvishavane 6mm,” said Chifuna. The sudden change in the weather caught many people unawares as they were under the impression that the winter season was over. The cold spell, which normally pushes the demand for electricity up, comes at a time of heightened load shedding due to depleted dam water levels at Kariba Power Station.

Zesa said generation of power dropped from the normal 750MW to 475MW due to low water levels at Kariba dam.

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