NiMet Warns Of Possible Thunderstorms

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has warned of an approaching severe thunderstorm observed in the northeastern part of the country.

The Spokesperson for NiMet, Muntari Ibrahim, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

According to Ibrahim, severe thunderstorm cells are currently being observed over the northeastern parts of the country including Borno, Adamawa, Gombe and Taraba; moving in a North-East-South-West direction with a ground speed of 30 km/h.

He said, “These are expected to propagate westward to give squally thunderstorms to some cities.”

The statement further revealed that another thunderstorm cell was observed developing over Jos’ high ground which is accompanied by squally wind and heavy rains and is expected to propagate westward to affect parts of Gombe, Bauchi, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Enugu, Ebonyi, northern Cross River, within the next three to six hours.

Also, parts of Kaduna, FCT and Niger State are expected to experience thunderstorms with moderate to heavy rains within the next 6 hours.

The statement therefore advised that where thunderstorms are expected, strong winds are likely to precede the rains and as such, trees, electric poles, unsecured objects and weak buildings may be felled, so the public was advised to be cautious and to stay indoors, especially during heavy rainfall to avoid being struck by lightning.

The Agency went on to advise all airline operators to avail themselves of weather reports periodically from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.

“Disaster risk managers, agencies and individuals should be proactive, to avert loss of lives and property during the rainy season.

“The Central Forecast Office (CFO) in NiMet will continue to monitor the weather and provide updates when necessary”, the statement said.