Johannesbirg - As South Africa heads towards the New Year, large parts of the country remain firmly in the arms of that weather trouble child La Niña.
Unlike her brother La Nino, La Niña (Spanish for little girl) is a global weather phenomenon that has brought higher than average rainfall across the country.
Where her influence will be felt most in the next week will be in the Eastern part of South Africa.
“There is going to be a lot of rain in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu- Natal,” explains South Africa Weather Service (SAWS) forecaster Tokelo Chiloane.
“We are getting our normal summer rains, but with the La Niña, it is all enhanced.”
An area to watch out for, says Chiloane, is around Ermelo, in Mpumalanga, which could experience some severe thunderstorms.
Gauteng is likely to be spared the worst of the rain for the coming week. According to Chiloane, most days will have a 30% chance of thundershowers with a temperature range of between 25 and 31 degrees Celsius.
In a statement issued by SAWS, most of the country had received above-normal rainfall during the first ten days of December, thanks to La Niña.
The higher rainfall had also given relief to drought-stricken areas in the western interior of the country.
With a little help from La Niña, the Vaal Dam is now 108% full. On Thursday, two sluice gates were opened to control the rising storage level. The bad news for those wanting to take advantage of the summer weather and do some fly fishing along the Vaal river is that high flow rates from the dam has made the popular destination unfishable.
Gauteng fishers might be cursing the weather girl, but on the other side of the world, La Niña is providing a fishing boon.
In New Zealand, according to media reports, fishers are expected to make some rare catches this summer. This as warmer water temperatures, caused by La Niña, are attracting tropical fish species. One of those species is the king of sporting fish, the marlin.
Closer to home, in the town of Dullstroom, a well known trout fly fishing destination, higher rainfall means that dams are fuller but often muddier. This affects visibility, which makes fishing harder. Dullstroom is in Mpumalanga, the province that is likely to see heavy rainfall in the next week or so, according to the national weather service.
So far, the little girl has been busy in the Dullstroom area. On Monday, 57mm of rain fell in a 24-hour period.
“We have already had above-average rainfall, and we still have January, February and March to come. So it is definitely a good year,” says Charl Strydom, who runs the Dullstroom Weather station.
Already, the area has had three days where over 40mm of rain has fallen in a 24-hour period.
“And usually, three days is the maximum for the season,” explains Strydom.
But all things have to end. Chiloane explains that most La Niña periods last between two and three years. It means that she is at least halfway through her reign.
After that, it could be her brother’s return, who will usher in the mean years of global droughts and below-average rainfall.