Storm, hail heralds arrival of dry season
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The strong winds and hail that hit Ciputat and Pamulang districts in Tangerang over the weekend were precursors of the dry season, a staffer at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said.
A forecaster on duty at the BMG said on Sunday that the storm had been caused by high air pressure that had accelerated the formation of cloud in some areas in Jakarta.
"In those locations, clouds formed quickly at a very low altitude -- only 500 meters above the ground," Ramlan was quoted by Antara as saying.
In Ciputat and Pamulang, south of Jakarta, high winds and hail occurred on Saturday, the second time in Greater Jakarta since January.
The brief storm also uprooted a number of trees in both areas.
Darul, a resident of the Taman Kedaung housing complex in Ciputat, said that the hail fell for around 15 minutes, adding that the hailstones were the size of pebbles.
"The noise (of the hail) was exactly the same as if my house was being hit by thousands of small stones. I came out and found the hailstones were in fact the size of pebbles," he told The Jakarta Post by phone.
Darul also said that some trees had been uprooted and blocked roads, causing traffic congestion in the area.
A resident at the Jakarta Police's Mobile Brigade housing complex in Ciputat said that the hail had damaged the roof of his house.
On Jan. 30, hailstones fell for about 10 minutes on some parts of the capital, including Senayan and Bintaro. High winds from Cyclone Linda that accompanied the hail uprooted dozens of trees in South Jakarta.
Ramlan also commented that the high temperatures in Jakarta over the last few days was another sign of the arrival of the dry season. "The high temperatures were influenced by the converging in the Indian Ocean of Typhoon Oscar from the northern hemisphere and Cyclone Fay in the southern hemisphere," he said.
He said that the two storms had caused higher temperatures as their convergence had generated high air pressure.
"As the result, in the eastern part of Jakarta, for example, the average temperature during the day reached up to 35 degrees celsius in comparison with the normal temperature of around 32 degrees," he said.