Extended Abstract

There is a unimodal pattern in the Western and in the northern part of the country with the peak in July-August-September period.The only difference is that, in the northern part of Cameroon, we have four to five months completely dry.The South experiences a bimodal rainfall pattern with one peak during March-April-May and the otherone in September-October periods.Considering t hat m ost of the rainfall in C ameroon are from co nvective cl ouds, t hough w e h ave a lsoorographic and advective, it means simply that heavy rains can occur at any time in the course of therainy season leading to floods and landslides, essentially during the peak periods.The g lobal en ergy an d w ater cy cles ar e d riven b y h eating an d w ater v apor t ransport. The t ropics i ngeneral are noted for sufficient solar energy and high relative humidity from water bodies, largeequatorial forest and the ocean. These explore how moisture is distributed, vertically, horizontally, andtemporally. The thermodynamic or static energy of the tropical atmosphere is used to distinguish betweenfair and stormy weather.The a ccidental r elief i n C ameroon f avours up lift a nd buoy ancy of m oisture laden a re parcels. M ountCameroon i s the h ighest i n t he C entral an d West A frican sub-regions w ith a height o f a bout 4, 095mabove sea level.The geographic location of the Country also plays a very great role in its rainfall patterns. The countryhaving a co astline o f a bout 402k m, of ten has ons hore m oisture laden w inds from t he A tlantic Oceanwhich in contact w ith th e mountainous r elief triggers l arge-scale m echanisms f or l ifting ai r t o itscondensation level adiabatically and subsequently showers.Another very important parameter is the position of the ITCZ.The above f actors an d other more made i s p ossible for the NOAA/NCDC t o co me o ut with p laces ofextreme rainfall on the globe. The map below clearly elucidates this;-173-