Extreme dry season possible, says NWS

By NAOMI WASE
With the cooling in the sea surface in the Pacific, the coming dry season is expected to be drier than normal, the National Weather Service (NWS) says.
Assistant director Jimmy Gomoga said the NWS was monitoring the global models and they picked that by June there should be El Nino conditions.
“This means that the coming dry season will be drier than normal and some parts of the country may go into drought and experience severe dryness,” he said.
Gamoga said the dry season normally occurs from June to September and October.
“At the moment we are in the transitional period and the dry season should be kicking off around June,” he said.
He said the rainfall should beginning to drop across the country.
“Last month was the wettest month of the year and that has already gone.”
Gomoga said the authorities should start preparing for the dry season and aware that the global models have picked up a signal.
“They should be contacting us so that we should be able to keep them informed,” he said.
He said at this time of the year, they were not sure but they will confirm the El Nino around June.
Gomoga said the transitional period is still part of wet season and tropical cyclone season so people living in the Solomon and the Coral seas should be aware of tropical cyclone.
“From past experience, we had one (tropical cyclone) in 2002 that formed very late into May and it continued into June so cyclone can form any time during wet season.”