As the 2026 El Niño nears, the Kenya Meteorological Service Authority (KEMSA) has urged Kenyans to brace for above-average rains from the last week of September to December this year.
The latest October-December weather outlook released on Wednesday, August 26, shows that the developing El Niño is intensifying and will bring very heavy rains that will cause floods and even landslides.
Kenya Met said above-average rainfall is expected across all 47 counties, with the intensity projected to increase gradually, particularly in Central, Rift Valley, Lake Victoria basin and Western Kenya.
According to the weather department, some counties are expected to begin receiving the rains as early as September, while others are projected to experience the onset from the second week of October.
Floods along Waiyaki Way during rains experienced on June 1, 2024.
Photo
Washington Mito
“According to the most recent update, the 2026 El Niño event continues to intensify across the central-eastern equatorial Pacific,” KEMSA announced.
Among the counties expected to begin receiving rains in September are Nandi, Kakamega, Vihiga, Bungoma, Siaya, Busia, Baringo, Nakuru, Trans Nzoia and Uasin Gishu.
The rains are also expected to start in September in the counties of Elgeyo-Marakwet, West Pokot, Kisii, Nyamira, Kericho, Bomet, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori and Narok.
On the other hand, the counties of Nyandarua, Laikipia, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kiambu, Meru, Embu, Tharaka-Nithi and Nairobi will begin receiving rains in the second and third weeks of October.
A similar pattern has been forecast in the coastal counties of Mombasa, Kwale, Lamu, Kilifi, the Tana Delta and northern counties of Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Isiolo.
Meanwhile, the counties of Machakos, Kitui, Makueni, Kajiado, Taita-Taveta and inland parts of Tana River County will begin experiencing moderate to heavy rains from the third and fourth week of October.
KEMSA has also projected warmer-than-average temperatures during the October-December season, with the highest temperatures expected in the coastal counties and northern Kenya.
“The warm temperatures are due to the southward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) that is associated with warm, humid air,” Kenya Met revealed.
Motorists using a flooded highway during cold and rainy weather in Nairobi
KNA
