March Equinox
20 March 2011 - Equal day and night over the equator
Sunday March 20th 2011 marks the March Equinox when the subsolar point begins to move into the northern hemisphere bringing longer days to northern latitudes for the next 3 months.
On the Kenyan Coast in equatorial latitudes - the equinox also announces the arrival of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which brings with it some heavy rainfall. The ITCZ generally follows a few weeks later - which is why the first rainy season of the year occurs in April and May.
The Kenya Coast has shown signs of this change in weather - also closely linked in to the changing of the monsoon wind, which turns at this time of year from the north-easterly Kaskazi wind to the southerlyKusi wind.