Rainy Season?

Rainy seasons have been arriving later in Malawi. I was prepared for torrents, but apart from a couple of downpours (one with hail and thunder), it was sunny and beautiful the whole time I was there. This was good for traveling but not so good for the crops that Malawians need to stay alive.

The maize they grind into flour that becomes nsima, a thickened porridge served with chambo, a popular fish from Lake Malawi. The tobacco that's just being transplanted now.

As I waited to board the plane on Saturday, dark storm clouds gathered and lightening flashed in the distance. Not auspicious flying weather — but a good sign for the parched ground and empty rain barrels. 

I just checked the forecast: rain is predicted every day from now till Christmas. I'm imagining the red clay soil drenched and drinking. I'm imagining the land greening and exhaling. I'm imagining the end (at least this year) of a parched Malawi.