Pixabay
Pixabay
Well, the Cape Town weather was just as epic as predicted this weekend. The heavens opened and, most importantly, the dams got a good dousing.
With no substantial rainfall predicted for the rest of August, this really was winter’s last hurrah. At around 18:00, the Cape Peninsula and Mother City were treated to a massive deluge.
That weather system pushed itself in a north-easterly direction, moving away from the municipality and into the deep inland regions of the Western Cape. In fact, with the temperatures plummeting on Saturday night, many areas even ended up with a covering of snow.
Cape Town weather: Total weekend rainfall
Of course, this will all be great news for the local dams. They have been the subject of intense interest over the last 18 months, as Cape Town battles to keep day zero at bay.
On Monday, they broke through the “60% full” mark. After this weekend’s relentless rain, there’s every chance that the 65% threshold could be breached – a figure that will bolster the Cape as it bids to deal with the changing seasons and a potentially scorching summer.
According to data collected by Africa Weather and the South African Weather Service, three separate regions received more than 50mm of rain over the past 24 hours. Ceres, Grabouw and Kirstenbosch all managed to clock their half-centuries…
????️HEAVY FALLS OF RAIN OVER THE WC IN THE 24 HRS TO 8AM????️
☔️Ceres AWS 58mm
☔️Grabouw 50mm
☔️Nieuwoudtville 28mm
☔️Cape Town ✈️ 24mm
☔️Hermanus 23mm
☔️Paarl 22mm
☔️Worcester 18mm
☔️Porterville 17mm
????Further scattered heavy ????️ for today.@ReenvalSA @landbou pic.twitter.com/vHUKg5MgW0— AfricaWeather (@AfricaWeather_) August 26, 2018
24 hour #Rainfall measured at 8:00 this morning (exceeding 20 mm) @ReenvalSA @GrainSA
Three stations measured more than 50 mm:
Grabouw – 50.2
Kirstenbosch and Ceres – 58Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape also received 28 mm
Feel free to share your photos and videos with us pic.twitter.com/xZiYfxiKwt
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) August 26, 2018
What this means for Cape Town dam levels
The Ceres catchment feeds the Berg River dam, so whatever rain falls in this area directly goes to the facility. Grabouw, meanwhile, is just 15km away from both Steenbras reserves. So any downpours that hit the town also have a huge impact further down the road.
Theewaterskloof is also expected to see a significant increase in its water levels. Villiersdorp – where the dam is based – was the scene of rainstorms and snow showers on Sunday.
