If you stepped outside in Nairobi this morning and felt that familiar cold wrap around you, you were not imagining it. Kenya’s cool season is here, and according to the Kenya Meteorological Department, it is going to be a week that demands attention.
In its weekly weather forecast covering June 2 to 8, 2026, Acting Director Edward M. Muriuki has put the country on notice. From violent thunderstorms battering western Kenya to near-freezing nights in the highlands and blistering heat in the north, the forecast reads less like a routine bulletin and more like a weather emergency brief.
Twenty-one counties are on the receiving end of what could be a punishing stretch of afternoon and night thunderstorms. Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, Migori, Kisii, Nyamira, Kakamega, Vihiga, Bungoma, Busia, Nakuru, Kericho, Bomet, Narok, Baringo, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, and Nandi are all in the forecast zone.
The pattern will be deceptively calm in the mornings — sunny intervals giving people a false sense of ease — before conditions turn sharply in the afternoon. Residents in these areas, particularly those in low-lying zones near the Lake Victoria Basin, are being warned to stay alert for lightning strikes and possible localised flooding. This is not a week to leave drainage channels blocked or take chances near swollen rivers.
For those living across the Highlands East of the Rift Valley — Nairobi, Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri, Meru, Embu, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua, Laikipia, and Tharaka Nithi — mornings will arrive grey and cloudy, occasionally breaking into light showers before the sun fights its way through.
Nairobi’s nights are forecast to fall to 13°C. Nyahururu will be colder still, bottoming out at 8°C. These are not just statistics. During the May 25–31 review period just ended, Nyahururu’s meteorological station recorded a low of 5.0°C — the coldest point in the country. This week is unlikely to be much kinder.
Motorists and travellers using highland roads or airports are being specifically cautioned. Fog will be a real hazard, cutting visibility in ways that can be lethal on mountain roads. Kenya Met is not sugarcoating it.
While one half of Kenya shivers, the other half is on fire — literally.
Mandera is forecast to hit 38°C this week, a figure that tracks closely with the 38.2°C peak the town’s meteorological station recorded on May 29, the highest single-day reading in the country during the previous review period. Lodwar and Wajir are not far behind at 37°C each. Garissa will reach 36°C.
The Coast — Mombasa, Kilifi, Lamu, Kwale, and the Tana Delta — sits somewhere in between. Expect occasional showers morning, afternoon, and night, with daytime temperatures hovering around 31 to 33°C. It will be warm and wet in patches, not unlike what the coastal region delivered in the final week of May, when Msabaha Meteorological Station in Kilifi County recorded a staggering 175.4 mm of rainfall over seven days, including 59.7 mm in a single 24-hour period on May 27.
The one quiet corner of the country this week will be the South-eastern Lowlands. Kitui, Machakos, Makueni, and Kajiado are forecast to remain dry and largely sunny throughout.
What You Should Do
Kenya Met’s message to the public is clear and practical. Farmers in rainfall zones should use the coming rains strategically — for crop planting, pasture development, and water harvesting. Households in dry areas are being asked to use water resources carefully.
Motorists in the highlands must slow down and anticipate reduced visibility from fog, especially in the early mornings. Anyone with light structures in wind-prone areas should secure them before conditions deteriorate.
And as the cold deepens, the department is flagging a health concern that often goes unspoken: the risk of respiratory illnesses including flu and pneumonia rises sharply in cold, damp conditions. Vulnerable groups — the elderly, young children, and those with pre-existing conditions — need extra care this week.
Kenya Met has reminded the public that this weekly forecast should be read alongside the department’s daily 24-hour and five-day bulletins. County-specific details are available through the offices of respective County Directors of Meteorological Services.
