I was wondering if this might happen. With all the moisture streaming along the North African coast and north east from central Africa. Also some forecasts had this indicated as a possibility.
Admittedly the rain is very light. But it is June and close to Solstice, the hottest month in this part of the world. Here we see the broader picture. The #EuropeBigWet is continuing in a fairly stable pattern for another 48 hours still.
Here's a close up of the North Western quadrant with some big storms bursting to life near the Morocco/Algeria border.
Another view of this area showing the rainfall associated with these clouds.
Morocco is supposed to be dry this time of year. In fact they have had a fair bit of rain there continuously since March. [Ref. tripsavvy.com/morocco-weathe…]
To the south east we have the engine room of the West African Monsoon over and inland from Nigeria. Today there are two big storms over Niger and Chad. Both are generating sufficient height to inject moisture into the north easterly jets at around 10,000m alt.
This map shows 300 hpa winds which are as you see heading north east from where those two storms are. This pattern has been place for some time now bringing clouds across Egypt. And this is contributing to the rain over Lebanon this evening.
Here are today's 10-day rainfall forecasts for the broader region three of the four models continue to show a fair bit of #DesertRain.
And here are 48 hour forecasts (rainfall today and tomorrow) from the same four models. Unfortunately its impossible to know which one is getting it right.
Rainfall was light in the #HornofAfrica. #ArabianStorms were also subdued, though there was another storm south of Mecca as the evening approached, the third day running rain has been close to the holy city during a month where the average rainfall is zero.
Introducing the #MiddleEast segment here's a wind map from this morning. 850hpa is typically about 1500m but probably higher given the heat at the moment. This is the wind that is driving a massive dust river south from Iraq over Kuwait and into Yemen.
You have to look close to see it and its clearer as the sun sets - but this dust river is huge. Interestingly it is also connected to the Central Africa monsoon jet which is bringing the cloud onshore into Lebanon. From there it curls east and then south east picking up the dust.
10-Day June 12th, accumulated rain forecasts for the #MiddleEast from the GFS, CMC & KMA weather models.
And finally, June 12th 16-day (GFS) and 12-day (KMA) accumulated rainfall forecasts for the Middle East.
The GFS is again showing rains over the Arabian Sea getting very close to Yemen. This 16 day forecast also shows very heavy rains in #Ethopia in bottom left.
And this is relevant to the question of when the #HornOfAfrica Big Rains will begin. On June 8th I addressed this (thread below) in the daily forecasts.
Here's an interim update. We are expecting the Indian Monsoon to be spreading west into Pakistan and into the Arabian Sea. Here are four satellite images each taken at the same time from the 9th 10th 11th and 12th of June.
And this is indeed happening.
Finally. Make sure to check out @Arab_Storms for the latest storm videos, from Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. A small selection follows. Beginning with this video of a thunderstorm downburst, which can generate very strong winds.
What a difference a gnarly little low makes. The till now stationary #EuropeBigWet is about to be blown away. Which will be a relief to some. But there are still a bunch of storms coming.
Here in France where we had been expecting to largely ride this out a bunch of big rain events are now coming. Which I will enjoy and will probably also be welcomed by farmers.
A series of North Atlantic storms will soon break the current traffic jam caused by the stationary low over Eastern Europe.
This 10 day simulation shows one possible scenario but the underlying situation is absurdly complicated, so don’t count on this as a guide.
The images below from @NASA below show 3 north-south cross sections of the Sahara taken this morning. 1. Morocco to Ivory Coast 2. Algeria to Nigeria & DRC 3. Levant to Uganda.
An updated precipitable water animation - 10 Days - for the Sahara. The transit of water in a north easterly direction is finally starting to slow down, albeit not just yet.
10-day rainfall forecasts from four models for North Africa.
This map shows military actions identified and documented by the team. @GeographyUGent has been studying the Tigray region for 60 years and has a deep network of contacts in the region from which they are gathering information.
12 "Conflict incidents" are included for May 2021.
@GeographyUGent 17 "Conflict Incidents" are reported from the month of April. And as of April 23rd this is their map of territorial control. At that time the TDF (Tigray Defence Force) was still in control of significant areas across the region.
@IlhanMN@Ilhan doing her job and politely asking legitimate questions - ones which are being asked by many people all around the world - about the jurisdiction off the nascent International Criminal Court.
Given the absurd over the top responses you would think she had said something offensive. But it seems that she said none of the things that a range of nut jobs are accusing her of saying.
The truth is that Israel and the US arbitrarily exercise their view of justice via an arbitrary policy of targeted assassination. This is not a controversial observation it is the simple truth.
Super efficient delivery at Dinan vaccination center. Tiny needle. Painless. No sign of 5G connection yet :)
Super thankful. To scientists who created this miracle of science, & all the people involved in the delivery.
2nd appointment in July.
Vive La France!
‘Tis an exceedingly beautiful place to get vaccinated Dinan. Afterwards I visited the church here which is nearly 1000 years old. Dating back to the crusades and before William of Normandie conquered Britain.
Today's #EuropeBigWet report has a twist in it. The arrival of a new element in the model forecasts, a zippy little storm that looks a bit cyclonic heading towards the UK.