Dar es Salaam. Several parts of Tanzania are expected to experience periods of rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms in some areas of the Lake Victoria Basin and western regions, while the northern coastal areas are forecast to receive rain mainly during the first five days of November.
In its 10-day weather forecast covering November 1 to 10, 2026, the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) said the Lake Victoria Basin regions of Kagera, Geita, Shinyanga, Mwanza, Simiyu and Mara were likely to experience periods of rain and thunderstorms in some areas.
The authority also forecast periods of rainfall in a few areas of the North-eastern Highlands, covering Arusha, Manyara and Kilimanjaro, particularly during the first five days.
In the northern coastal areas, including Tanga, northern parts of Morogoro, Coast and Dar es Salaam regions, as well as Unguja and Pemba islands, periods of rainfall were expected in some areas, mainly during the first five days.
In western Tanzania, Kigoma, Katavi and Tabora regions were also forecast to receive periods of rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms in some areas.
The forecast indicated that light rainfall was expected in a few areas of the Central Zone, covering Dodoma and Singida, particularly during the first five days.
Similarly, a few areas of the southwestern highlands, comprising Rukwa, Songwe, Mbeya, Njombe and Iringa, were expected to experience periods of rainfall, especially during the first five days.
In the southern coastal areas of Mtwara and Lindi, light rainfall was forecast in a few areas.
Similar conditions were expected in the Southern Zone, covering Ruvuma Region and southern parts of Morogoro.
Factors influencing rainfall patterns
TMA attributed the expected rainfall patterns to changes in wind systems and atmospheric pressure over different parts of the world.
It said high-pressure systems in the Northern Hemisphere, including the Azores and Siberian systems, were expected to continue strengthening, while those in the Southern Hemisphere, namely St Helena and Mascarene, were forecast to weaken.
These changes were expected to keep the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a seasonal rain-bearing belt, positioned further south, influencing rainfall over the Lake Victoria Basin, western Tanzania and parts of the Central Zone and south-western highlands.
The authority also said sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean, near the East African coast, were expected to remain above average compared with those in the eastern Indian Ocean, near the Indonesian coast.
This temperature difference was expected to strengthen the flow of moist winds from the ocean towards the coastal belt and north-eastern highlands, creating conditions favourable for rainfall in those areas.