Rwanda Meteorology Agency has warned of "intense and frequent lightning strikes,” especially at the beginning of the forthcoming rainy season.

The warning was issued as the weather forecaster was releasing the seasonal forecast for the September to December (SOND) rainfall season 2024 on August 23.

Rainfall is expected to start across almost every part of the country especially in the Northern, Western and Southern provinces. It is expected to rain in some parts of the Eastern Province except for Kirehe, Ngoma and Kayonza districts.

"METEO RWANDA advises the public institutions, NGOs, Private sector and the general public to take note of the forecast and use it to make informed plans and decisions,” reads the forecast statement in part.

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The agency constantly issues warnings to caution the public of extreme weather conditions such as frequent lightning strikes, strong winds, hailstorms, intra-seasonal dry spells, and heavy rains that tend to trigger strong runoffs and heavy streams on steep slopes and rivers.

Experts and meteorologists in Rwanda have predicted that the rainfall for the September to December 2024 season will likely be within the normal range. This means that the amount of rainfall expected during this period is similar to what has been recorded on average for the past 30 years.

According to Aimable Kahigi, the Director General of Rwanda Meteorology Agency, the expected rains are moderate.

"However, the prediction means heavy rain might fall on a particular day. That is why we also have forecasts for every day and every 10 days. There are areas with between 500 millimetre and 700 millimetre rainfall. This is heavy rain,” he noted.

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The rainfall between 600 millimetres and 700 millimetres is expected in Rusizi, Nyamasheke, and in southern parts of Karongi District near Nyungwe National Park in the Western Province, andNyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts of Southern Province.

This amount of rainfall is also expected in the areas surrounding the Volcano zones in Musanze, Nyabihu and Rubavu districts.

The rainfall between 500 and 600 millimetres is expected in Burera, Musanze and Gakenke districts in the Northern Province; Nyabihu, Rubavu, Ngororero, Rutsiro Karongi districts, and Bugarama plain in the Western Province; as well as Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts in the Southern Province.

The range of rainfall between 400 and 500 millimetres is expected in Gicumbi, Rulindo, and eastern parts of Burera and Gakenke districts in the Northern Province; in the Southern Province districts of Kamonyi, Muhanga, Ruhango, Nyanza, Huye, Gisagara and eastern parts of Nyamagabe; as well as the southern parts of Ngororero and western sectors of Karongi districts of Western Province.

The amount of rainfall between 300 and 400 millimetres is expected in Nyagatare, Gatsibo, Kayonza, Ngoma, Kirehe, Bugesera and Rwamagana districts in the Eastern Province; Gasabo, Kicukiro and Nyarugenge districts of the City of Kigali; as well as Amayaga areas of Kamonyi, Ruhango, Nyanza, and Gisagara districts in the Southern Province.

Christine Hitimana Niyotwambaza, the Director General in charge of disaster preparedness in the Ministry in Charge of Emergency Management, said that in the last rainy season, at least 5,523 households were relocated from 326 disaster-hotspots.

"The forecast information will help us to take more measures," she said.