Tropical Storm Dineo‚ which will soon reach cyclone strength‚ is a female and was named by Botswana's weather bureau.
Dineo has been trending on Twitter on Wednesday‚ with many wondering how she was named and speculating as to what she may be like.
South African Weather Service forecaster Elizabeth Webster said that the names are selected randomly from lists submitted by countries in the south-west Indian Ocean region.
“About every three years‚ these countries get together and each weather office sends a representative with a list of names.”
- LIVE: We track Dineo as storm heads to SAWe track the formidable storm system known as Dineo as it heads through Mozambique and prepares to strike parts of South Africa.
The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre in Reunion‚ which monitors the cyclone season‚ then compiles an alphabetical list of names chosen from the submissions‚ she said.
Dineo‚ which is the fourth tropical system of the 2016/2017 season‚ was provided by Botswana and the gender is described as female.
A full list is available in the Tropical Cyclone Operational Plan for the South-West Indian Ocean‚ published by the World Meteorological Organization last year.
- WATCH: Incredible time-lapse of #Dineo hitting MozambiqueWatch this incredible time-lapse of Dineo hitting Maputo Bay in Mozambique on Wednesday.
Other countries which had name suggestions make the cut are Tanzania‚ Mauritius‚ Zimbabwe‚ Lesotho‚ Malawi‚ Swaziland‚ Tanzania‚ Kenya and France
South Africa is represented twice on the naming list – with Bransby‚ male‚ and Violet‚ female.
Bransby‚ which has already been used this season‚ was named after the South African Weather Service senior forecaster Bransby Bulo.
“We try to have fun with it‚” Webster said.
- WATCH: 16 dolphins stranded on beach after #Dineo pummels MozambiqueFragments of roof‚ twisted corrugated iron‚ trees snapped in half and stranded dolphins were among the sights that greeted residents in parts of Mozambique on Thursday after an overnight pummelling from Cyclone Dineo.
There is no back story for the name Violet‚ she added.
Names are given to tropical weather systems when they reach the moderate tropical storm stage‚ associated with winds of 63-88km/h.
'SHE'S LOOKING TO CAUSE TROUBLE'
Dineo is currently in the severe tropical storm stage and is expected to become a cyclone later on Wednesday‚ associated with destructive winds of 118-165km/h.
If Dineo reaches the intense cyclone stage she will be thrashing about winds speeds of up to 166-212km/h.
Dineo will on Wednesday move into southern Mozambique and is expected to reach Limpopo‚ Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday.
Communities in the affected regions have been warned of torrential rains and flooding‚ by the South African Weather Service.
- Storm of our Generations - #Dineo memes will blow you awayWith Dineo shifting its gaze from Mozambique to South Africa, social media has wasted no time seeing the funnier side of the approaching storm.
“Regarding direct‚ weather-related impacts for South Africa‚ heavy rainfall may occur in places over the northern lowveld and adjacent escarpment regions of Limpopo on the evening of Thursday the 16th.
“The greatest impact (with respect to South African provinces) is suggested to be overnight Thursday and into the morning hours of Friday the 17th‚ when heavy rain can be expected over the entire eastern half of Limpopo (including the Kruger National Park)‚ where 100 to 200mm of rain could occur per day‚” it said in a statement.
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