Table Mountain cable car load shedding stage 6

Photo: Table Mountain / Facebook

Table Mountain: 100km/h gales may close cableway “for the next five days”

The hectic winds in Cape Town are causing a nightmare for visitors to Table Mountain. The cable cars have closed on Friday, and the forecast looks bad.

Table Mountain cable car load shedding stage 6

Photo: Table Mountain / Facebook

Residents of Cape Town and the south-west have had it all this week. Rain has arrived in some parts of the province on Friday, following a four-day blast of hot weather. With the heatwave subsiding, the Mother City now faces another extreme weather challenge – and the wind is playing havoc up Table Mountain.

Table Mountain latest: Cable cars closed on Friday, winds likely to last for days

Various sources believe that gales have topped 100km/h on Friday – and the forecast for the weekend and the start of next week are just as glum: Gusts of at least 85km/h are expected to hit Table Mountain on Saturday, and it’s bad news for the beloved cable car system – they simply cannot operate in these conditions.

Cape Town weather: How strong have the winds been

Earlier in the day, officials working for the iconic landmark confirmed that the cableway had been shut down “due to the adverse conditions”, and visibility at the top of the rock has been described as poor:

The fierce south-easter – otherwise known as the Cape Doctor – lives in infamy around the parts. The summer months are often blighted by strong, piercing gales that batter the exposed Cape. We reckon a cable car high above the ground is the last place you’d want to be when this thing rolls into town.

Extreme weather for the Western Cape on Friday 17 January

Planes coming into Cape Town International Airport face a battle with conditions, and road users are also advised to drive with caution. This is the type of weather system that can turn a Chevrolet Spark into a private jet. There’s more extreme weather down the coast, too.

Table Mountain is far from the only place which is suffering right now: A weather warning has been put in place for the Garden Route up until 23:00 on Friday night. The region has been put on high alert for a significant amount of rainfall, which is likely to cause localised flooding in the following towns:

  • Oudtshoorn
  • Ladismith
  • Riversdale
  • Knysna
  • Plettenberg Bay
  • Mossel Bay
  • George