South Africans will have to brace for continued cold weather, while the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape will face gale force winds as cold fronts make their way east.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued a "Severe Weather Alert Warning" on Thursday morning for high fire danger conditions over the Enoch Mgijima and Intsika Yethu local municipalities of the Eastern Cape.
"It's because of the dry conditions that persisted over the Eastern Cape over the past few days," SAWS forecaster Bransby Bulo told News24.
"There are strong winds over those areas, which result in higher chances of fire conditions."
There are calm winds in the Eastern and Northern Cape currently.
Winds
The Ngqura-Coega station reported winds of 10km/h, similar to Makhanda (formerly known as Grahamstown), but even lighter winds were reported in Beaufort-West (1.4km/h) and Ladismith (1.3km/h).
Cape Point reported a wind speed of only 13.4km/h by 09:00 on Thursday, but Bulo warned that the calm conditions would soon come to an end.
"Because of the cold front that is coming from the west, the western and central parts of the country gets strong north-westerly winds ahead of the approaching cold front."
Flooding is caused by heavy rainfalls in Cape Town. (Jaco Marais, Gallo Images, Netwerk24)
Motorists drive through flooded roads during heavy rainfalls in Cape Town. (Jaco Marais, Gallo Images, Netwerk24)
Motorists drive through flooded roads during heavy rainfalls in Cape Town. (Jaco Marais, Gallo Images, Netwerk24)
The SAWS said that winds along the coast would be strong to a gale force between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas, moderating by Thursday afternoon.
Another cold front off the west coast will follow the current one.
"There is another strong cold front that is approaching from the far west. It will reach the Western Cape by Monday. It's going to bring bad weather conditions from Monday," said Bulo.
Rain from frontal systems have helped fill up the dams that supply Cape Town.
According to the City of Cape Town, water storage in the six major dams was measured at 69.6% on Wednesday. The key Theewaterskloof dam was at 60% of capacity, compared to 41.6% in 2018.
Cold
And more significant rain is on the way as the cold fronts pass the country.
"There will be light rain from a weak cold front, but the one that is coming early next week, we think it is going to cause 80% to 100% of rain by Monday or Tuesday," said Bulo.
South Africa also experienced significant snowfalls on the high lying areas of the Western and Northern Cape provinces.
"Because of that snow, the temperatures will be low. I would say it is typical for this time of the year," Bulo said.
The SAWS will monitor the approaching cold front and advise the public accordingly, Bulo added.
"We are going to monitor it until Monday. By Saturday or even tomorrow [Friday], we are going to write an advisory about."
Selected temperatures for Thursday | ||
City | Min | Max |
Johannesburg | -1°C | 18°C |
Nelspruit | 10°C | 23°C |
Polokwane | 3°C | 20°C |
Mahikeng | -2°C | 24°C |
Bloemfontein | -3°C | 20°C |
Sutherland | -8°C | 13°C |
Port Elizabeth | 7°C | 21°C |
Cape Town | 9°C | 17°C |
Source: SAWS | ||
Current Dam Water Levels - 24 July 2019 | |||
Major dams | Storage | ||
Ml (Megalitres) | % | ||
| Capacity when full | 24/7/2019 | |
Berg River | 130 010 | 102.4 | |
Steenbras Lower | 33 517 | 59.6 | |
Steenbras Upper | 31 767 | 99.0 | |
Theewaterskloof | 480 188 | 60.0 | |
Voëlvlei | 164 095 | 69.1 | |
Wemmershoek | 58 644 | 65.8 | |
Total Stored Ml | 898 221 | 624 755 | |
% Storage | | 69.6 | |
Source: City of Cape Town | |||
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