Why does Ho Chi Minh City have thunderstorms and lightning?

Since early this afternoon (October 8), in Ho Chi Minh City and many provinces and cities in the South, there has been rain, heavy rain, especially very loud thunder and lightning.

The Southern Hydrometeorological Station said that the thunderstorms are caused by the equatorial low pressure trough with an axis at about 7-10 degrees North latitude combined with high-altitude easterly wind disturbances affecting the weather in the Southern region.

Source: Southern Regional Hydrometeorological Station

Monitoring on satellite cloud images, weather radar images and lightning positioning shows that the storm cloud area is developing and causing rain with thunderstorms and lightning in the areas of Can Gio, Binh Chanh, Binh Tan district, district 6, Tan Phu, district 10, district 1, Thu Duc city, Tan Binh district, Phu Nhuan, Binh Thanh, district 12, Go Vap.

In the next 3 hours (from 2:45 p.m. on October 8), thunderstorms will continue to develop, causing showers, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning in the above districts, then expanding to other neighboring areas. Rainfall is generally from 10-40mm, in some places over 50mm. During thunderstorms, beware of tornadoes, hail and strong gusts of wind of about level 5-7 (8-17m/s), heavy rain causing localized flooding.

In addition, thunderstorms are also covering the provinces of Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, and Long An .

The Southern Hydrometeorological Station forecasts that in the coming days, the continental cold high pressure will gradually weaken. The equatorial low pressure trough with an axis of about 6-10 degrees north latitude will remain. Above, the subtropical high pressure will lower its axis southward through the North. The easterly wind disturbance above will affect the Southern region, causing thunderstorms, lightning, and gusts of wind. It is forecasted that from now until about October 12, the area will have continuous thunderstorms.

Also this afternoon, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that from this evening to tomorrow (October 9), in the area from Quang Tri to Khanh Hoa , there will be scattered showers and thunderstorms, locally heavy rain with rainfall of 20-40mm, some places over 80mm. Warning of the risk of local heavy rain (>80mm/6 hours).

In Ninh Thuan , Binh Thuan, Central Highlands and Southern regions, rainfall is from 15-30mm, locally over 70mm (thunderstorms are concentrated in the late afternoon and night).

During thunderstorms, there is a possibility of tornadoes, lightning and strong gusts of wind. Localized heavy rain can cause flooding in low-lying areas; flash floods on small rivers and streams, and landslides on steep slopes.

La Nina appears, Ho Chi Minh City may be cold below 20 degrees at the end of the year . La Nina appears in October. The rainy season in 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City is likely to end later. In particular, in November and December, cold air diffuses strongly to the south and there will be a period of temperature drop below 20 degrees.

A series of trees were uprooted in a thunderstorm, crushing many motorbikes in Dong Nai.

During the rain this afternoon, strong winds caused many trees at the Tan Phong intersection (Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai) to be uprooted; a tree over 10m high fell horizontally, crushing at least 4 motorbikes on the sidewalk.

The North has prolonged dry weather, while the Central and South regions have localized heavy rain.

The North is experiencing dry, sunny autumn days, cold nights and mornings, and some mountainous areas are cold and are forecast to continue. Meanwhile, the Central and Southern regions are experiencing localized heavy rain.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/vi-sao-tphcm-mua-giong-sam-set-dung-dung-2329921.html