Coast cooks up stew of weather

THE coast was a stew of weather before the weekend, with a little bit of rain in the morning, followed by strong east wind and very high temperatures – a combination unheard of by many.

Dark rain clouds on Thursday evening, with lightning flashes and rolling thunder, gave the impression that the coast would enjoy more rain, while the Swakop and Kuiseb Rivers edged their way to the ocean. The weather even cooled for the evening, although still humid.On Friday morning, the dark clouds were still there, and Walvis Bay even received some rain in the morning – enough to wet the tarmac at the Walvis Bay Airport. But the promise of wet weather did not last long.By 07h00 already, temperatures soared to nearly 30 degrees Celsius. The mercury eventually settled just below the 40 degree Celsius mark as the east wind started gaining momentum by 10h00, filling the lower atmosphere with sand and dust. The wind was measured at 20 knots, or about 38 kilometres an hour.’This is really a weird combination this time of the year,’ an airport control official at Walvis Bay told The Namibian.Like the rain this year, the arrival of the east wind was also considered early, as it usually starts around Easter.Hot humid conditions, with temperatures above 35 degrees, prevailed yesterday.adam@namibian.com.na