North Sumatra Braces for Another Week of Heavy Rain, BMKG Warns

Medan (ANTARA) - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has stated that parts of North Sumatra remain at risk of rain due to wind shearlines and active atmospheric wave activity.

“In addition, this is also due to sufficiently unstable air conditions that support convective processes and the formation of rain clouds,” said Putri Hafizah, a forecaster at BMKG Regional Office I, in Medan on Tuesday.

The presence of a cyclone seed over the Indian Ocean to the west of Sumatra has also triggered the formation of a wind shearline and convergence zones along the west coast to the eastern slopes of North Sumatra.

Furthermore, ongoing atmospheric wave activity and warm sea surface temperatures are increasing the potential for rain cloud formation.

The unstable atmospheric conditions also support convection, thereby raising the likelihood of convective cloud growth.

These conditions could trigger the growth of convective clouds in the afternoon and evening, potentially bringing moderate to heavy rain accompanied by lightning and brief, locally strong winds in a number of areas across North Sumatra.

“The weather in North Sumatra over the coming week will generally be dominated by moderate to heavy rain conditions,” she said.

Areas potentially experiencing moderate to heavy rain include Langkat Regency, Binjai, Medan, Deli Serdang, Serdang Bedagai, Tebing Tinggi, Batubara, Asahan, North Labuhanbatu, South Labuhanbatu, and Pakpak Bharat.