Heavy rain slowed the morning traffic

RELATED LINKS: Rain for February not above average After a pretty wet week, Joburgers would be mistaken in thinking we've had a more than normal amount of rain this month. We haven't. We've had 90.6mm of rain so far this month; the normal average for February is 90mm. Read more How Jo'burg plans to save that water The water that flows from your taps has travelled hundreds of kilometres to get to you - and somewhere along that convoluted route, as much as 40% of it is believed to leak away. Which sounds alarming, in a country accustomed to drought. But the same happens every day, in every city in the world - and Johannesburg, a city not created on a river, compares rather well. Read more

Dry weather not broken by recent rains, El Niño coming October 13, 2004 By Lucille Davie THIS morning the roads were rivers of rain, motorists were skirting puddles, and pedestrians huddled beneath umbrellas but, despite this, there's no reason to suspect that the rainy season has begun, says the South African Weather Service. On the contrary, we can expect above average temperatures and below normal rainfall over the following months. And what's worse, there's a 60 percent chance of "weak to moderate" El Niño conditions towards the end of the year and the beginning of next year. El Niño refers to an irregular and complex series of climatic changes affecting in particular the equatorial Pacific region every few years, characterised by warmer than usual sea surface temperatures which in turn affect the atmosphere. These changes are then carried around the globe by the wind. For South Africa as a whole this means that conditions will be drier and warmer in December, January and February. For Joburg this means that in these months, usually our wettest, we'll experience temperatures edging into the 30s, four or five degrees warmer than normal. Rain fell on Monday night and continued overnight and into Tuesday and Wednesday, giving hope to Joburg gardeners watching their parched gardens with dismay. In September, where normally we get 27mm of rain, Joburg only received 0,5mm of rain. The average for October is 76mm but it's unlikely we'll reach that as, from Thursday, although there might be clouds up there, says the Weather Service, don't expect rain. Partly cloudy conditions will persist into next week, with no rain. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za