While the world watches a solar eclipse, South Africa is buried under snow

South Africa missed Wednesday’s total solar eclipse while parts of the country coped with a rare and disruptive snowfall that prompted an Orange Level 6 warning and left some communities cut off.

Why South Africa didn’t see the eclipse

The total solar eclipse traced a narrow path across Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain, with a partial eclipse visible across parts of Europe, North America and northwestern Africa. South Africa falls outside that path entirely. The source also notes that roughly 980 million people worldwide got some view of the eclipse.

Snow, not shadows: the weather on the ground

At the same time as the eclipse, South Africa was experiencing a cold front and a cut-off low that triggered an Orange Level 6 disruptive snow warning. The warning applied across several Eastern Cape municipalities: Emalahleni, Sakhisizwe, Senqu, Elundini and Matatiele.

The snowfall was severe enough to cut some communities off entirely, according to the source.

Looking ahead

The source points readers to another astronomical event later in the month, noting a partial lunar eclipse on 28 August as the next eclipse visible from home.

“I however, will be looking forward to the partial lunar eclipse on 28 August.”

What happened where

The Orange Level 6 snow warning specifically covered the named Eastern Cape municipalities and was the result of the described cold front and cut-off low. No other locations, dates or casualty figures are provided in the source material.

Bottom line

While large parts of the world turned their eyes skyward for a total solar eclipse, South Africans were dealing with a separate, ground-level weather event: disruptive snowfall that led to an Orange Level 6 warning and isolated communities in parts of the Eastern Cape.