vf-tropicom Meteorological Analysis for South Africa

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Seasonal Vegetation Index - 1999/2000

Seasonal vegetative index


Seasonal Rainfall - 1999/2000
in mm

Seasonal rainfall


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Preliminary Monthly Weather Analysis
Southern Africa - 1999/2000

From the African Desk, Climate Prediction Center, NOAA
Note: This information should be used with caution.
Weather data based on preliminary reports.

  • July 2000 - Seasonably dry weather prevailed in Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, central and northern South Africa and western Madagascar. Light to moderate rains (1-69 mm, 17-219% of normal) fell in western South Africa, along the Mozambique coast, the western coast of Madagascar and the Comoros Islands. Heavy to very heavy rains (186-513 mm, 110-323% of normal) fell along the eastern coast of Madagascar. Temperatures averaged near normal except for 2 to 4 degrees C above normal along the coastal areas of Namibia and the northwestern coast of South Africa. >
  • June 11-20 2000 - Moderate to heavy rains (74-223 mm; 130-242% of normal) fell over the northeastern Madagascar coast for a second 10-day period. Light to moderate rain (4-25 mm ) fell over northern South Africa. Seasonably dry conditions prevailed over much of the region. Temperatures averaged 3 to 5 degrees C above normal in Botswana and central and northern South Africa. The remainder of the region experienced close to normal temperatures.
  • June 1-10 2000 - Heavy rains fell over northeastern Madagascar (130-188 mm; 120-218% of normal). Light to moderate rain (10-60 mm; 60-128% of normal) fell in southwestern South Africa, eastern Botswana, much of Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and eastern Madagascar. The remaining parts of the region experienced normal dryness. Temperatures were generally near normal in much of the region except 2 to 4 degrees C above normal in South Africa’s Cape Province.
  • May 2000 - Unseasonably heavy rains during May 1-10 resulted in abnormally high May monthly rainfall totals. Amounts of 50 to150 mm (200-750% of normal) covered northern Zimbabwe and eastern coastal sections of South Africa. May precipitation was also above normal (160-600% of normal) over western and northwestern Madagascar, northern Botswana and Namibia. Mozambique rainfall was near to below normal except in the southern interior, where rains exceeded normal.
  • May 21-31 2000 - Light to moderate rain (10-39 mm; 20-190% of normal) fell in the coastal parts of South Africa and eastern Madagascar. The South African rains were mostly above normal, with seasonably dry weather in the interior. Normal dryness prevailed over the rest of the region. Temperatures were generally near normal.
  • May 11-20 2000 - Light to moderate rain (1-25 mm; 4-150% of normal) fell over the central east coast of South Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. Unseasonably heavy showers (10-50 mm) fell in northern and eastern Zimbabwe. Meteosat estimates indicated light rain (2-25 mm) over northeast Namibia and southern and western Mozambique. Botswana, Angola, Malawi and other parts of the region were seasonably dry. Temperatures averaged near normal except for isolated reports of 3 to 4 degrees C above normal over southwest South Africa, the central coast of Namibia and the central east coast of Madagascar. Readings averaged 3 to 4 degrees C below normal over northern Mozambique, its southeastern coast and central Malawi.
  • May 1-10 2000 - Unseasonably heavy rains for this time of year (25-50 mm; 200-900% of normal) fell over much of South Africa's maize triangle as well as northeastern Zimbabwe. Some of the unseasonable showers also fell in central Namibia and southern and eastern Botswana. Moderate rains of 25 to 50 mm, with isolated heavier amounts, also fell in southern Mozambique, eastern Madagascar, and extreme northern Angola. All other areas were seasonably dry. Temperatures were generally near normal except for isolated cases of 3-4 degrees C below normal over southwest and northeast South Africa and southeast Zambia.
  • April 2000 - Rainfall amounts decreased as the rainfall belt gradually shifted to central Africa. However, heavy to very heavy rains (105-360 mm; 21-387% of normal) fell over the Mascarene Islands, north Madagascar, east-central Mozambique and southeast South Africa. April satellite estimates compared with the normal indicated above normal over south and central Mozambique, western Angola, north and central South Africa and northern Zimbabwe; normal over Malawi, central and eastern Angola, western and central Namibia and the southern tip of South Africa; and below normal over Madagascar, northern Mozambique, central and northern Botswana and northeast Angola.
  • April 21-30 2000 - Light to moderate rains (0-50 mm) fell over south and central Mozambique, southeast South Africa, east Zimbabwe, southern Botswana and east-central Namibia. Moderate to heavy rains (56-268 mm; 68-333% of normal) fell over northeastern and southeastern Madagascar. Meteosat estimates indicated moderate to heavy rainfall (25-150 mm) over northwestern Angola. Temperatures in this region were near normal except for isolated cases of 3 degrees C above normal over southwest Zambia and southeast South Africa and 3 degrees C below normal over southeast Zimbabwe.
  • April 11-20 2000 - Light to moderate rains (0-95 mm; 0-384% of normal) fell over Madagascar and Mozambique, while light to moderate rains (0-99 mm; 0-589% of normal) fell over South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia and Angola. Abnormally dry conditions have prevailed over most of Madagascar, especially in those areas that missed the moisture from Cyclone Hudah earlier this month. Four-week rainfall totals have been well under 50% of normal on most of the island. Rainfall has been gradually tapering off over continental areas that experienced flooding earlier, though amounts continued above normal in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Meteosat estimates indicated moderate to heavy rainfall (50-150 mm) over northwest Angola. Temperatures were 3 to 4 degrees C above normal over southwestern South Africa and the Seychelles and up to 3 degrees C above normal locally over western Zambia.
  • April 1-10 2000 - The region again experienced the devastating effect of a cyclone when Hudah flooded northern Madagascar and eastern Mozambique. Hudah remained near the northern coast of Mozambique from April 5 to 7, bringing over 150 mm of rain to Zambezia’s coastal strip. This was north of the areas affected by the large-scale flooding earlier this season. Moderate to heavy rains (12-162 mm; 13-372% of normal) fell over northeast South Africa, Zimbabwe, and northern and eastern Madagascar. Light to moderate rains (0-26 mm; 0-330% of normal) fell in western South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and southern Angola. However, satellite estimates showed heavy to very heavy rainfall (100 to over 200 mm) over western Angola. Temperatures in this region were within 2 degrees C of normal except above normal (departures 5 degrees C) over central Namibia and below normal (departures 3 degrees C) over northeast South Africa and south Zimbabwe.
  • March 2000 - Abundant rains (46-704% of normal) fell over most of the region, aggravating the flooding that began earlier. Heavy to very heavy rains (100-639 mm; 29-704%) fell over the Mascarene Islands, Madagascar, eastern Mozambique, southeastern South Africa, eastern Botswana, and western Namibia. Most of the rains over Madagascar fell in the first 10 days, while that of Mozambique fell in the second. Light to moderate rains (21-190 mm; 28-388%) fell over interior areas of South Africa, as well as Zimbabwe and Malawi. Satellite estimates indicated heavy to very heavy rainfall (150 to over 300 mm) over Angola and Zambia.
  • March 21-31 2000 - Light to moderate rains (2-97 mm; 2-999% of normal) prevailed over most parts of the region, including Mozambique and Madagascar, while Seychelles reported heavy rainfall (158 mm; 231% of normal). Meteosat estimates showed heavy to very heavy rainfall (127-241mm) over western Angola, central Namibia, eastern Zambia and eastern Zimbabwe. Most of the reported temperatures over this region were near normal (0-2 degree C departures) except for isolated cases of above normal (3-5 degree C departures) over southwest South Africa and below normal (3-5 degree C departures) over southwest Zambia.
  • March 11-20 2000 - Moderate to heavy rains (46-292 mm; 170-over 1000% of normal) continued to pound the southern half of Mozambique. Moderate to heavy rains (25-158 mm; 90-over 1000 % of normal) were also observed over Zimbabwe, Botswana, northeastern Namibia, northern and central South Africa as well as northern Madagascar. However, only moderate rains (43-125 mm; 34-78% of normal) fell along the east coast of Madagascar, while dry conditions rains prevailed over the southern half of Namibia and over western South Africa. Meteosat rainfall estimates indicated abundant rains (50-150 mm) over much of Angola and Zambia. Extreme temperatures (4 to 11 degrees above normal) were observed over north central Namibia. Near normal conditions prevailed elsewhere.
  • March 1-10 2000 - Rainfall lessened over the flooded areas of southern Mozambique, though the remains of Gloria brought heavy showers to Gaza and Inhambane provinces at the end of the period. Rainfall reports indicated heavy to localized very heavy rainfall (120-507 mm; 93-326% of normal) over eastern Madagascar as well as some sectors of the western coast. Cyclone Gloria, packing winds of 100 km/h, struck the northeast coast of Madagascar on March 1. The storm weakened quickly and crossed the island on a southwestward course during March 2-5. On the continent, the bulk of the eastern and north-central areas, consisting of South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, reported light to moderate rainfall (10-117 mm; 101-332% of normal) while Botswana, Namibia and north-central parts of South Africa reported isolated rains. Satellite estimates indicated moderate to heavy rains over eastern and central Angola as well as northwestern Zambia. Temperatures over the region were within 1 to 2 degrees C of normal except for western and northern Zambia, where temperatures were 3 to 5 degrees C below normal.
  • February 11-20 2000 - Tropical Cyclone Eline contributed to moderate to heavy rains (170-220 mm; 150% of normal) over the Mascarene Islands as well as the eastern coast and northern part of Madagascar. Moderate to heavy rains (45-205 mm; 105-999% of normal) also pounded continental southern Africa, with almost all the stations south of 15 degrees S reporting above-normal rainfall. In Mozambique, where flooding continued, the heaviest amounts (100-150 mm) were concentrated in the central part of the country and along the southern coast. Totals, however, were lighter than during the preceding period. Heavy rains in South Africa (over 100 mm) fell mostly in the northeast. Isolated heavy rains (over 200 mm) fell over eastern Namibia while satellite rainfall estimates indicated heavy rains (100-200 mm) in Zambia, Botswana, most of Zimbabwe, and southeastern Angola. Temperatures over the region were broadly within the normal range.
  • February 1-10 2000 - Heavy to very heavy rains, causing record floods, drenched a broad region, including southern Mozambique (satellite estimates over 200 mm), southern Zimbabwe (58-234 mm, 209-559% of normal), southeastern Botswana (up to 154 mm, 597% of normal) and northeastern South Africa and Swaziland (68-222 mm, 183-658% of normal). Also, heavy to very heavy rains fell over the Seychelles Islands (134-365 mm, up to 376% of normal) while heavy rains hit central and northern areas of Madagascar (93-315 mm, 90-255% of normal). Satellite estimates indicated moderate to heavy rains centered over central Angola (50-150 mm). Temperatures over the region were within the normal range except over eastern and western Zambia, where temperatures were below normal (departures up to 4 degrees C) while readings were above normal (departures up to 3 degrees C) in northeastern Namibia.
  • January 2000 - Abundant rains (80-550% of normal) fell over the southern part of southern Africa, including South Africa, the southern tip of Namibia, much of Botswana, Zimbabwe, and western Mozambique. Notable rains were also observed over northwestern and southwestern Madagascar. Much of the rains over the Mascarene Islands fell towards the end of the month as a result of the passage of the tropical cyclone Connie. In contrast, much of Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, eastern Mozambique, and Tanzania received lighter rains in the range 10-85% of normal.
  • January 21-31 2000 - Very heavy rains (above 200mm; 102-265% of normal) associated with the tropical cyclone Connie pounded the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and Réunion. Also heavy to very heavy rains (116-275mm; 103-169% of normal) were reported over northwestern Madagascar. Moderate to heavy rains (10-77mm; 86-341% of normal) were reported over the semi-arid central areas of Namibia, central and northeastern South Africa, and southwestern Zimbabwe. Light to moderate rains (5-50 mm; 10-100% of normal) were observed over much of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Satellite rainfall estimates indicated heavy rains (50-200 mm) over much of Angola extending eastward into northwestern Zambia. Temperatures were generally 1 to 3 degrees C below normal across the region.
  • January 11-20 2000 - Moderate to heavy rains fell over eastern South Africa (50-298 mm, 108-296% of normal), northeastern Namibia and northwestern Botswana (47-154 mm, 128-305% of normal), Zimbabwe (30-159 mm, 181-387% of normal), southern and central Mozambique (49-160 mm, 101-294% of normal), and western and southern Madagascar (60-214 mm, 82-478% of normal). Satellite rainfall estimates indicated moderate to heavy rains (50-200 mm) in southeastern Angola as well as most parts of Zambia. Meanwhile, moderate rains (21-59 mm) fell in northern, central and southern areas of South Africa, eastern Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, northern Mozambique and eastern Madagascar. Temperatures were below normal (up to 5 degrees C) over wide areas of central and southern South Africa.
  • January 1-10 2000 - Satellite rainfall estimates indicated heavy to very heavy rains (100 to over 200mm) over northeastern Angola, northwestern Zambia as well as southern Malawi and central Mozambique. From the rainfall reports widespread moderate rains (11 to 90mm, 63 to 392% of normal) were received over northern and eastern South Africa, central, northern and eastern Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern and northeastern Mozambique. Over Madagascar, moderate to heavy rains (30-130mm, 43-112% of normal) with parches of heavy to very heavy rains (130-278mm, 112-999% of normal) were reported over western and northwestern areas while moderate rains (15 to 51mm, 26 to 74% of normal) were reported over parts of southern, central and northern areas. Temperatures over the region were mainly in the normal range.
  • December 1999 - Satellite rainfall estimates indicated abnormally heavy rains (over 300 mm) in central and southeastern Angola extending to western Zambia and northern Namibia (200-300 mm). Moderate to heavy rains also fell over Botswana (24-120 mm, 124-345% of normal). Though amounts over Madagascar generally exceeded 150 mm, totals as a percent of normal were low for the third consecutive month in many areas. December rainfall totaled as low as 23% of normal in eastern and southern Madagascar. Heavy amounts soaked southeastern coastal areas of South Africa (70-254 mm, 153-456% of normal), including Kwazulu-Natal as well as Swaziland. Moderate to heavy rains extended northward into the eastern maize triangle. Patches of moderate rains (50-150 mm) fell over northern and central Mozambique, but most of the country was below normal. Amounts were less than 50% of normal in the far northern and southern parts of Zimbabwe. Abnormal dryness extended northward into southeastern Zambia and much of Malawi, according to satellite estimates.
  • December 21-31 1999 - Satellite rainfall estimates indicated very heavy rains (over 200 mm) over east-central Angola extending to western Zambia (100-150 mm). Estimated rainfall amounts have exceeded 400 mm in the past 2 weeks in east-central Angola and up to 300 mm in western Zambia. Moderate to heavy rains (32-178 mm, 156-445% of normal) fell over east-central South Africa, Swaziland and extreme northern Madagascar (132-165 mm, 132-157% of normal). Cyclone Astride contributed to the rains in Madagascar, tracking westward across the northern tip of the island with 40-knot winds during the last hours of the month. Moderate rains (10-83 mm, 142-930% of normal) fell over interior Namibia and Botswana. Drier weather (0-50 mm) returned to eastern Zambia, northern Zimbabwe, northern Malawi, northern interior Mozambique, and central Madagascar following substantial rains during December 11-20. Dry conditions also returned to Réunion and Mauritius, where long-term drought continued. Temperatures averaged above normal over central Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and the western Cape of South Africa (3-4 degrees C above normal). Over the rest of the region, near-normal temperatures prevailed.
  • December 11-20 1999 - Satellite rainfall estimates indicated heavy rains (150-200 mm) over southeastern Angola extending to western Zambia (100-150 mm) and northern and central Namibia (100-150 mm, 300-800% of normal). The past 4 weeks have been among the wettest on record for this time of year in Namibia. Estimated rains exceeded 200 mm in parts of Angola, making this period easily the wettest of the season so far. Moderate to heavy rains relieved dryness in central and northern Malawi (36-136 mm, 148-173% of normal), eastern and northern Mozambique (72-116 mm, 146-227% of normal) and west-central Madagascar (64-141 mm, 292-360% of normal). Light to moderate rains (25-60 mm) fell over central and east-central South Africa, southern Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Below-normal rains (16-44 mm, 25-75% of normal) covered most of Zimbabwe. Réunion and Mauritius finally saw some drought relief with 50 to more than 100 mm of rain. Areas with significant rainfall deficits so far this season are mainly limited to Madagascar, pockets of South Africa, and Tete Province in Mozambique. Temperatures were above normal (3 to 5 degrees C) over southern parts of Eastern Cape of South Africa and up to 3 degrees C below normal over Malawi and eastern Zambia.
  • December 1-10 1999 - Moderate to heavy rains (41-157 mm; 152-301% of normal) fell over central Zimbabwe, eastern South Africa (46-169 mm; 141-349% of normal), and central and northern Madagascar (41-72 mm; 43-87% of normal). Significant rains (10-90 mm; 30-300% of normal) relieved dryness in South Africa’s western maize triangle, though some dry pockets remained. Satellite estimates indicated heavy rains (100-200 mm) over much of Angola, especially in the northwest. Amounts over Madagascar were mostly below normal, with the driest areas near the east coast (16-55 mm; 20-87% of normal). Season-to-date rainfall in Madagascar has been well below normal, with cumulative rainfall since early October under 50% of normal in many areas. In addition, long-term drought continued over Réunion and Mauritius. Dry conditions persisted over central and eastern Zambia, northern Malawi, and northern interior Mozambique. Similar to last year, the rainy season has been slow to start in these areas. Elsewhere, near-normal rains fell. Temperatures were near normal over the region except above normal (up to 4 degrees C) for a small pocket in southwestern South Africa.
  • November 1999 - Monthly rainfall totaled 100 to 197 mm (126-260% of normal) in western Zimbabwe and 60 to 125 mm (110-184% of normal) over northeastern South Africa. Amounts over the bulk of South Africa’s corn belt ranged from 15 to 60 mm (20-50% of normal). Temperatures around 2 degrees C above normal compounded the effects of the dryness. Satellite rainfall estimates indicated that monthly amounts may have ranged up to 200 mm over west-central and northwestern Madagascar and over 300 mm in central and northern Angola. Nevertheless, most stations in Madagascar reported under 60% of normal rainfall. To the east, the Mascarene Islands again reported below-normal rainfall. In extreme northern Mozambique as well as most of Malawi, the rainy season has been slow to start.
  • November 21-30 1999 - Moderate and isolated heavy showers fell over Zimbabwe (23-138 mm; 182-228% of normal), northeastern South Africa (23-98 mm; 31-71% of normal), and southern Mozambique (50-124 mm; 158-547% of normal). Rainfall continued below normal over most of South Africa’s western corn region, ensuring a poor start to the growing season there. Some stations have reported cumulative rainfall during the past 2 months under 50% of normal. Satellite rainfall estimates indicated moderate to heavy rains over western Angola (100-200 mm) and northern Zambia (100-150 mm). Dry conditions prevailed over Malawi, northern Mozambique, and southern Madagascar. The growing season has started poorly in Malawi and northern Mozambique, with some areas recording negligible rains so far this season. Below-normal rainfall once again prevailed over the Mascarene Islands, where drought has persisted for most of the year. Temperatures of 3 to 4 degrees C above-normal aggravated dryness over central South Africa and southern Botswana. Elsewhere, temperatures were near to below normal.
  • November 11-20 1999 - Light to moderate rains fell over Zimbabwe (10-85 mm; 47-250% of normal), southern Malawi (76 mm; 302% of normal), east-central Mozambique ( 31-56 mm; 122-217% of normal), the Comoros (117 mm; 408% of normal), and Madagascar (24-77 mm; 66-497% of normal). Above normal rains fell over southwestern South Africa (12-36 mm; 330-550% of normal). Dryness persisted over Mauritius and Réunion. Satellite estimates indicated heavy rains (150-200 mm) over central Angola. South Africa reported up to 4 degrees C above-normal temperatures, which were generally near normal over the rest of the region.
  • November 1-10 1999 - Light to moderate rains (10-60 mm; 200-500% of normal) fell over Zimbabwe, eastern South Africa, and parts of northern and southern Mozambique. Satellite estimates indicated heavy rains (100-150 mm) over west-central and northwestern Madagascar and northern Angola in addition to showers over northern and western Zambia, southern Malawi, and parts of northern Mozambique. The rainy season has been slow to start over interior northern Mozambique, Malawi, and parts of southern and eastern Zambia. In the Mascarene Islands (Mauritius and Réunion), up to 17 mm of rain brought only slight relief from the dryness that has persisted since October. Hot, dry weather prevailed over Namibia, northern and central Botswana, and western South Africa, where temperatures ranged up to 4 degrees C above normal. Readings were near normal elsewhere.
  • October 1999 - The new season was off to a wet start in Zimbabwe, which recorded 150 to 350% of its normal monthly rainfall, but Malawi, eastern Zambia, and the northern half of Mozambique stayed mostly dry. The season started slowly in South Africa’s eastern crop areas but, thanks to late month rains in the east and mid-month rains in the center, monthly totals were mostly near to above normal. Amounts were 200 to 800% of normal over central and eastern Cape Province, though less than 50% of normal in the western Cape. Southeastern Madagascar recorded near or above-normal monthly rains, but amounts were under 50% of normal across northern and western parts of the island, as well as the Comoros to the northwest and the Mascarenes (Mauritius, La Réunion) to the east. Monthly temperatures were near normal except 2 degrees C above normal in the dry portions of South Africa’s western Cape Province.
  • October 21-31 1999 - Satellite rainfall estimates indicated abundant rains (50-150 mm) over interior northern and central Angola. Quite heavy rains (25-80 mm, 200-400% of normal) covered Zimbabwe, while moderate rains (15-70 mm, 80-200% of normal) ended dryness over eastern interior South Africa. Kwazulu-Natal along the coast picked up over 100 mm. Moderate to heavy rains extended into extreme southern Mozambique, but the rest of the country was mainly dry. Rainfall was also light in Malawi, below normal over the Comoros and Mascarene Islands, but moderate to heavy in central and southeastern Madagascar. Southern Africa temperatures were slightly cooler than normal in Zimbabwe and Zambia and near normal elsewhere.
  • October 11-20 1999 - Moderate rains (20-58 mm) fell over the east and south coast of South Africa and the extreme western maize triangle, but rainfall remained below-normal (0-50 mm) over the central and eastern triangle, where the rainy season has been slow to start. Light rainfalls dotted northeastern Zambia, the east coast of Madagascar, and the Mascarene Islands. Satellite estimates also indicated light to moderate rains (2-25 mm) over Botswana and southeastern Zimbabwe. They also indicate heavy rains moving into central Angola. Temperatures varied over the region, with readings up to 3 degrees C below-normal over the east and up to 3 degrees C above normal in central South Africa.
  • October 1-10 1999 - Mostly light rains (0-15 mm) fell in South Africa, except the southwestern and northeastern tips of the country, where dry conditions prevailed. Light to moderate rains fell over northern Namibia (18-33 mm), western Botswana (15-28 mm), and the east coast of Madagascar (18-79 mm). Temperatures were above normal (3 to 5 degrees C above normal) over the southern part of South Africa and southern Namibia. Three to four degrees C below-normal temperatures reached from northern South Africa, northern Namibia, central Zimbabwe, Zambia, and western Mozambique to south-central Madagascar.
  • September 1999 - Apart from the southwestern tip of South Africa where above-normal rainfalls were recorded, monthly amounts were normal to below normal across the region. Some isolated cases of above-normal monthly rainfalls were reported over Zimbabwe and Madagascar Island. Below-normal temperatures were observed in Zambia. Elsewhere, temperatures were near normal.
  • September 21-30 1999 - The beginning of the austral spring was marked by light to moderate rains over western, southern, and eastern parts of South Africa and most of Zimbabwe. Above-normal rainfalls covered the southwestern coast of South Africa (115-853% of normal), southeastern Zimbabwe (204-314% of normal) and parts of Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. Elsewhere over the region, rainfall was below normal. Near to above-normal temperatures extended from Zimbabwe eastward to Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. Over the remainder of the region, temperatures were below normal (up to 4 degrees C below normal over southern South Africa).
  • September 11-20 1999 - The dry season continued. Nevertheless, some light, but unseasonable rains fell over Zimbabwe. Moderate to heavy rains (20-90 mm; 70-220% of normal) were recorded along the east coast of Madagascar. Light rains were reported over the southwestern coast of South Africa. Temperatures were generally 1 to 2 degrees C below normal across the region.
  • September 1-10 1999 - The southwestern and eastern coasts of South Africa again recorded above-normal rainfall but seasonal dry conditions prevailed over most of southern Africa. Above-normal rains also fell over the central highlands and the southeastern coast of Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. Below-normal temperatures persisted over central Tanzania (3 degrees C below normal) and Zambia (3-5 degrees C below normal).
  • August 1999 - Seasonally dry conditions prevailed over much of southern Africa, except for above-normal rains along the southwestern coast of South Africa, Madagascar’s central highlands, and eastern Zimbabwe. Harare, Zimbabwe, reported 20 mm for the month versus a normal of just 2 mm. Monthly temperatures were near to above normal except over western Zambia (2 to 3 degrees C below normal).
  • August 21-31 1999 - Wet conditions (10-35 mm) prevailed over the southwestern and eastern coasts of South Africa, where seasonal dry conditions occurred during the preceding ten-day period. One to 25 mm of rain (150-350% of normal) also fell along the central and southern coast of Mozambique and in eastern Zimbabwe. Isolated heavy rain, 123 mm, soaked northeastern Mozambique, where normally 3 mm is recorded. Above-normal rains also fell over the central highlands and the southeastern coast of Madagascar. Below-normal temperatures were reported over central Tanzania (3 degrees C below normal), western Zambia (2-3 degrees C below normal), eastern Namibia (1-2 degrees C below normal), and Lesotho (up to 4 degrees C below normal).
  • August 11-20 1999 - Seasonably dry conditions prevailed over much of southern Africa. However, some moderate to heavy rains (50-125 mm) fell along Madagascar’s northeastern coast. Temperatures averaged 3 to 7 degrees C above normal over Namibia and South Africa, and were near normal elsewhere.
  • August 1-10 1999 - Seasonably dry conditions prevailed again over southern Africa except for South Africa’s southern coast, where above-normal rains were recorded (12-31 mm; 124-454% of normal). Below-normal rains fell along Madagascar’s eastern coast (9-72 mm; 20-33% of normal) and Mauritius islands. Temperatures averaged 2 to 4 degrees C above normal over Zimbabwe and northeastern Namibia and 1 to 4 degrees C below normal in Zambia.
  • July 1999 - Rainfall was close to seasonal, with the above-normal rains near the end of the month offsetting the earlier dry weather along the coast of South Africa. As a result, a few stations along the coast reported twice normal rainfall in July.
  • July 21-31 1999 - Seasonably dry conditions prevailed again over most of southern Africa except for unseasonable rains (30-60 mm; 200-700% of normal) along South Africa’s southern coast and Madagascar’s eastern coast (25-200 mm; 100-200% of normal). Temperatures averaged 2 to 3 degrees C above normal over Botswana, northeast Namibia, and nearly all of South Africa, continuing a warm trend that persisted all month.
  • July 11-20 1999 - Seasonably dry conditions prevailed over southern Africa. However, unseasonable rains (10-60 mm; 185-285% of normal) dotted the Mozambique coast. Moderate rains (10-80 mm; 70-185% of normal) also fell over the southwestern tip of the Western Cape province of South Africa and along the east coast of Madagascar. Meteosat rainfall estimates indicated that seasonably dry weather prevailed over Angola, Zambia, and southern Zaire. The winter season continued unusually dry along the southern coast of South Africa, where 4-week rainfall amounts have been under 25% of normal. Temperatures were unusually high across South Africa and Namibia, where readings averaged 2 to 4 degrees C above normal, except along South Africa’s southern coast. Temperatures averaged 1 to 4 degrees C below normal in Zambia and Tanzania.
  • July 1-10 1999 - Seasonably dry conditions prevailed over most of southern Africa. However, rainfall was lighter than normal along the southern coast of South Africa and along the eastern coast of Madagascar. Temperatures were unusually high across South Africa and Namibia, where readings averaged 3 to 6 degrees C above normal. Temperatures were 1 to 4 degrees C below normal in Zambia and Tanzania.

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