Late arrival of rain ‘normal’ — JMD

AMMAN — Most rainfall in the Kingdom that occurs during autumn, especially in eastern and southern areas, results from unstable weather conditions, head of the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) weather forecast department at the Transport Ministry Raed Al Khattab said on Tuesday.

The total rainfall, out of the annual average during September, October and November, constitutes 12 to 16 per cent, Khattab said.

Although rain is late this season, as rainfall usually begins in mid of September, it is “normal and nothing exceptional”, he added.

In a statement released by the weather department, Khattab said that the late arrival of rains is “no indication of the season’s performance”, noting that the accumulation of rainfall in September and October constitutes only 2.5 per cent of the annual average in most areas around the Kingdom.

Khattab said that climate studies and records at the JMD have shown that Amman has seen 18 rainy seasons that witnessed no rain during September or October, and yet in spite of the late arrival of rains during those 18 seasons, half of them have seen more rainfall than the annual average, with an increase ranging between 1 to 75 per cent. 

Four of the 18 seasons have recorded the same amount of rainfall around the annual average, while only five saw weak to good precipitation, Khattab said, noting that there is a 72 per cent chance that the rainfall this year will be around the annual average or a slightly higher.

Last year, the rains started on October 5 and ended on May 25, receiving rainfall above the annual average by around 17 to 63 per cent, Khattab said.