WET AND DRY SPELL OCCURRENCES IN LOKOJA AREA, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined wet and dry spell occurrences in the Lokoja area, Kogi State, Nigeria. Daily data of rainfall (raining days) from 1985 to 2015 were used for this study. The double mass curve was used to test the data for normality. Indices of wet and dry spells such as mean, standard deviation, probability and frequency were determined. The results of the analysis indicate that as the tendency of wet days increased, the frequency of long wet spells also increased with a decrease in the trend in the frequency of long dry spells. The Mann-Kendall test (at 0.05 level of significance) was used to test whether there is a significant difference in the number of wet and dry spells during the study period. Results indicated no significant difference during the years of the study period.