Downpours triggered landslides that killed at least 10 people in Kenya earlyFriday. Rains hampered rescue and recovery efforts for missing people Saturday.The worst-hit area was the Marakwet District in western Kenya.
April and May are the wettest months for most locations across Kenya. Thereis a secondary rainy season that occurs during October and November, but raintotals are slightly lower than during the April-May rainy season.
Rainfall Thursday into Friday morning was estimated at 2-4 inches. The highestrainfall total in the country was measured at Meru, where 3.74 inches fell in24 hours.
The terrain in this area is mountainous, so any heavy rainfall has thepossibility of causing landslides. The area had already received ample rainfallso far this season, so the mountainous terrain was likely saturated.
Rainfall across Kenya has been much above normal in recent months. Naku, Kenya,had more than four times its normal rainfall during the month of March, andtheir rainfall for April was nearly double the average.
After another month of heavy rains across Kenya, the faucet typically gets shutoff. Six inches of rain normally falls during the month of May, followed byless than an inch in June, July and August.
El Nino usually brings heavier-than-normal rainfall to Kenya. The El Nino isweakening, but could still be to blame.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Forecaster Dave Samuhel
