Heavy Rains and Hailstorms Pelt Northern and Central Malawi

A system of strong storms moved through Malawi on 07 and 08 January. Our Earth Networks detection tools tracked the storm cells and sent out a Dangerous Thunderstorm Alert (DTA) seen in the video below (purple polygon.)

Heavy rains and accompanying concentrated lightning activity caused flooding and dangerous weather conditions in the Northern Region. The flooding affected the villages of Mputa, Jeyeka, Malima, Zikome and Mkhwema the worst. Earth Networks Total Lightning Detection picked up both in-cloud (purple) and cloud-to-ground (yellow) lightning strikes during the 2 day barrage of severe weather events.

The heavy rains and hailstorms damaged or destroyed 664 houses in Kasungu District, Central Region. The severe weather also damaged about 1611 hectares of crops including maize, soya, tobacco and beans.

Photo:George Ntonya/UNDP