Weather

Parts of SA Bracing for Cold and Wet Weekend Ahead

Published

9 months ago

July 28, 2023

Brace yourself for cold and wet weather for parts of SA as a cut-off low will develop, worsening weather conditions.

The South African Weather Service (Saws) has issued warnings of heavy rainfall, icy conditions, rough seas, snow, and strong to gale force winds expected over parts of the Cape provinces this weekend.

A cut-off low will rapidly develop over the Western Cape tomorrow, further exacerbating weather conditions in those regions. While the Cape provinces will experience the brunt of these conditions, the central and eastern parts of the country, including KZN, will also experience cold to very cold conditions from tomorrow night into Sunday.

Saws predicts that a strong cold front will make landfall along the west coast of South Africa and Namibia during Friday evening, causing scattered to widespread showers and rain along the coast of the Northern Cape and the western parts of the Western Cape. Additionally, very rough sea conditions along the coastal areas and windy conditions over the west and central interior of the country are likely.

In KZN, very rough seas associated with strong winds, with wave heights between four and 6m, can be expected along the west coast from tonight, spreading along the south coast of the Western Cape tomorrow to the coast of the Eastern Cape tomorrow night, and reaching the KZN coast on Sunday. These conditions may cause disruptions to beachfront activities and navigation difficulties at sea for small to medium vessels.

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Snowfall is expected across the interior mountain ranges of the Western Cape’s western and southern high ground of the Northern Cape and the high ground of the Eastern Cape from tomorrow into Sunday. The snowfall may extend into the Drakensberg region of KZN and the extreme southern parts of the Free State on Sunday. Disruptive snowfall can be expected over specific high-ground regions, potentially leading to livestock loss, mountain passes closure, and some communities’ temporary inaccessibility.

Icy conditions, with maximum temperatures between 5°C and 10°C, are expected over the interior of the Cape provinces from tomorrow into Sunday. Cold conditions will also spread to the central and eastern parts of the country, mainly on Sunday.

The weather systems are expected to weaken significantly on Sunday while exiting over the south-eastern parts of the country, causing weather conditions to improve mainly from Sunday evening into Monday. However, heavy ocean swell will continue to impact the southern and south-eastern coastline on Monday due to another cold front slipping along the southern coastal areas.

Source: Cold and wet weekend ahead for parts of SA

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