By Michael Liswaniso OPUWO Opuwo was a scene of heavy downpours last Saturday, resulting in pools of water almost everywhere in the town. Rains normally start to fall during the months of October or November, and end around March. May is usually winter time, and heavy rains in particular are unusual in this part of the country. The heavy rains that started at midnight on Friday, only stopped at about 10h00 the following day. It is still unclear how much rain hd fallen as the weather bureau in Opuwo is not functioning due to technical problems. Even though the rains were heavy, they fell steadily and were not accompanied by lighting, so power supply to the town was not affected. Although no major negative impacts were reported, roads were slightly affected. The busiest road, Mbumbijazo Muharukua Avenue, experienced a traffic jam. “The rainfall was heavy, but to me it was not unusual because I remember very well when in the 1980s I was in a geography class, and it rained in June. Our teacher instructed us to note with pens – not pencils – in our geography textbooks the exact date it rained. Our elders also periodically say it used to rain here even in the winter months,” said Patrick Mumbuu, a resident of the town for many years now. Meanwhile, a senior weather forecaster at the meteorological office in Windhoek, Odillo Kgobetsi, says it is uncommon for heavy downpours in places like Opuwo at this time of the year. He was quick to pronounce, however, that the possibility exists. “The possibility is there, but not so common. In this regard, it was because of the sharp, low-pressure system that broke through from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, resulting in rains in the northern parts of the country. It is not only Opuwo, but also Etosha and here in the central areas, and even Keetmanshoop that reported light showers,” Kgobetsi noted. He added that the general high-pressure systems over the Atlantic are also much stronger but have yet to be officially pronounced and can easily lead to similar occurrences especially during the winter months. Opuwo is 450ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ km from the Atlantic Ocean.