A cold front is expected to hit the Western Cape on Friday which will result in chilly weather, rain showers, strong winds, damaging sea waves and even snow in certain parts of this province and also other parts of the country.
The South African Weather Service (SAWD) predicts that the cold front will cause heavy rain showers in the south-western parts of the Western Cape on Friday afternoon, which will spread to the Northern and Eastern Cape on Saturday. The cold front will reach the eastern parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga by Sunday.
“The drop in temperatures will result in the possibility of snow in high-altitude areas across southern Namaqualand and the interior of the Western Cape on Friday, which will spread to the mountains in the Eastern Cape and southern Drakensberg by Monday.
“Disruptive snowfall is possible in places,” says the SAWD.
Along with the cold front, strong winds are also expected inland over the weekend, which will also cause gusty winds along the coast.
“Damaging waves are expected along the south-western coast on Friday evening which will then expand eastwards.”
The following warnings were issued on Thursday:
- Yellow level 2 – Inland wind: Strong to gusty (50 to 70 km/h) northwesterly winds are expected over the interior of the Western Cape (eastern parts of the Cape Winelands and Central Karoo) and Southern Namakwa.
- Yellow level 2 – Harmful waves: The height of waves can increase to 7 m between Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas from Friday evening, after which they will spread along the West and South coasts on Saturday and reach Port Edward on Sunday.
- Orange Level 5 – Strong winds that can cause major damage to settlements, properties and temporary infrastructure are expected on Friday and Saturday in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality and the western parts of the Chris Hani District Municipality.
- Yellow Level 4 – Strong winds that may cause damage to settlements, properties and temporary infrastructure are expected on Friday and Saturday in the Joe Gqabi district municipality, the eastern parts of Chris Hani district municipality as well as the Amahlathi and Raymond Mhlaba local municipalities.
- Orange Level 6 – Disruptive snow is expected on Sunday and Monday which could lead to major mountain passes being closed, communities isolated and livestock dying from the cold. The warning applies to the Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi district municipalities as well as the Matatiele, Umzimvubu, Raymond Mhlaba and Dr. Beyers Naude (Graaff Reinet)- local municipality. Extremely high fire danger conditions are also expected on Friday in the Sarah Baartman, Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi district municipality as well as the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.
“The SAWD will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates where necessary.
“The public is encouraged to regularly follow the weather forecasts on TV, radio and social media platforms.”
