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The Nigerian Meteorological Agency forecast widespread rainfall and thunderstorms across most of the country for Thursday, warning of localized flooding in low-lying areas spanning the north, center, and south.
NiMet issued the outlook in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, describing a day of shifting conditions as storm systems move through three broad regions in sequence, from northern states in the morning to central and southern states later in the day.
In the north, the agency projected patches of cloud cover Thursday morning, with thunderstorms and light rainfall possible over Gombe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Adamawa, and Taraba states. NiMet flagged the risk of localized flooding in some of these areas and advised residents and stakeholders to take precautions. By afternoon and evening, the forecast broadens: isolated thunderstorms carrying moderate rainfall are expected across Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, and Taraba states, with lightning and occasional strong winds accompanying the storms.
The North Central region follows a similar morning-to-evening progression. NiMet forecast thunderstorms with light rainfall in the morning, intensifying into more widespread thunderstorms and moderate rainfall later across Niger, Kwara, Benue, Kogi, Plateau, Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory. The agency warned that localized flooding and reduced visibility could occur in parts of this region as well.
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Southern states face a comparable pattern on a delay: rainfall is expected in Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and Ekiti during the morning, with moderate rainfall spreading across most of the region by afternoon and evening. NiMet said the prolonged wet conditions could produce localized flooding, particularly in low-lying and poorly drained areas — a recurring vulnerability in parts of southern Nigeria’s coastal and riverine terrain during the rainy season.
Beyond the region-by-region breakdown, NiMet issued a set of standing safety advisories tied to the forecast. It told residents to expect strong winds ahead of thunderstorms and urged motorists to drive cautiously during rainfall and periods of poor visibility. The agency also warned against walking or driving through floodwaters, and advised against sheltering under tall trees during thunderstorms because of the risk of lightning strikes. Separately, NiMet urged airline operators to obtain airport-specific weather reports from the agency to support safe and efficient flight operations, a routine directive given the aviation sector’s sensitivity to sudden storm activity and reduced visibility.
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NiMet operates as Nigeria’s federal meteorological authority, producing daily and seasonal forecasts used across agriculture, aviation, and disaster-response planning. Its Thursday advisory falls within Nigeria’s broader rainy season, which typically extends from April through October and brings the bulk of the country’s annual precipitation. Flooding during this period is a recurring national concern: rivers and low-lying urban areas in states including Kogi, Benue, Niger, and parts of the Niger Delta have experienced seasonal flooding in past years severe enough to displace residents and damage farmland, prompting NiMet and Nigeria’s emergency management agencies to issue advance warnings ahead of expected heavy rainfall events.
The spread of Thursday’s forecast, covering close to two dozen states across three geopolitical zones, reflects the scale of the weather system moving through the country rather than an unusual or isolated storm cell. The staggered timing NiMet described, cloud cover building in northern states before dawn, storms intensifying regionally through the afternoon, and rainfall reaching southern coastal states by evening, is consistent with the west-to-east and north-to-south movement patterns typical of Nigeria’s rainy-season storm systems.
No casualty, damage, or displacement figures were included in NiMet’s Wednesday post, which functioned as a preemptive advisory rather than a report on weather that had already occurred. Whether the storms materialize as forecast, and whether any of the flagged states experience the localized flooding NiMet warned against, would depend on conditions as Thursday unfolds. The agency did not specify a duration for the wet conditions beyond Thursday, nor did it indicate when the next forecast update would be issued.
