Dams receive inflow after first rain
The rainy season kicked off earlier than expected with some farmers regaining courage in the midst of the scorching drought after the first rains fell.Dirk Potgieter of Farm Sukses between Otjiwarongo and Okahandja's video on social media of showers that fell on Monday rekindled hope among Namibians .
Potgieter couldn't stop grinning when he spoke to Network Media Hub (NMH): "Everywhere I drive on the farm, it's just water. Farmers, especially in the South, should not lose heart. The rainy season has begun."
According to Potgieter's neighbour, Rian van Wyk from Farm Doornkom, between 15 mm and 25 mm fell there.
This area's water flows to the Omatako Dam which in turn feeds the Von Bach Dam.
More good news is that rain also fell in the Von Bach's catchment area, which is currently only 11 percent full.
Dam bulletin
According to the latest dam bulletin from NamWater, the Daan Viljoen and Tilda Viljoen dams in the Omaheke region received inflow after parts in the East such as Summerdown and Witvlei enjoyed showers, and between 20 mm and 25 mm of rain fell atGobabis.
The Daan Viljoen Dam in the Swart Nossob River received an inflow of 27 000 cubic meters of water and rose from 0.5% to 6.8%. The Tilda Viljoen Dam in Gobabis received an inflow of 2 000 cubic meters and the dam level rose from 2.7% to 2.9%.
Showers were also reported in the Etosha National Park, between Tsumeb and Oshivelo, at Ongwediva, Otavi, Omaruru, Okahandja, Otjiwarongo and on the Rietfontein road north-east of Gobabis.
Yesterday morning 17.3 mm was measured about 10 km south of Kombat and light rain continued throughout the morning.
According to weather experts, the rainy conditions are due to favourable upper air conditions with "sliver-like thunderstorms" moving over from Angola. This may continue until Friday and is possibly an early indication that Namibia may also get rain in October.
As for the rain outlook for today, the Namibian Meteorological Services predicted that it will be partly cloudy and warm to very warm in the South and North-East, but elsewhere partly cloudy and warm to very warm with scattered thundershowers.
The South is still waiting in tension for rain with all eyes on the Hardap Dam's level which stands at 8% with irrigation from the dam having to stop at 6%. – [email protected]