Weather: Brace yourself for a freezing week – more cold fronts

Several cold fronts are expected to make landfall this coming week.

COLD TO VERY COLD CONDITIONS EXPECTED

According to Hannelee Doubell, South African Weather Services spokesperson, windy, wet, and cold to very cold conditions as well as very rough seas are expected.

“A cold front will make landfall over the Western Cape on Monday.

“This will result in widespread rain over the western parts of the Western Cape, spreading to the eastern parts of the Western Cape and the south-western parts of the Northern Cape during the afternoon.”

Doubell said these conditions may result in difficult driving conditions during the morning commute, with localised flooding possible especially over the Cape Metropole, the Cape Winelands, and the southern half of the West Coast District.

“Widespread rainfall of 20-30 mm is likely over the western parts of the Western Cape, with higher amounts of 45-65 mm likely near the western mountainous regions.

“This may result in localised flooding of susceptible informal settlements, low lying bridges and roads and poor driving conditions.”

She furthermore said strong winds of 40-60 km/h are forecasted for the interior of the Western and Northern Cape from Sunday afternoon into Monday, which may result in problems for high-sided vehicles on major roads.

ALSO READ: Cold front with rough seas and gale-force winds expected – SAWS

LIGHT SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE

“Light snowfall is possible over the western high-lying areas of the Western Cape from Monday late afternoon into early Tuesday morning, with cold to very cold conditions expected.”

Doubell said small stock farmers are advised to provide shelter to animals during this week.

“Rainfall is likely to continue over the Western Cape and western and southern parts of the Northern Cape on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, as yet another two cold fronts are likely to impact these areas.”

Meanwhile in contrast, ‘Spring-like’ weather is predicted for the north-eastern parts of the country this week.

“With maximum temperatures in the low to mid-twenties, but warm to hot temperatures can be expected in the Lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo and the eastern parts of KwaZulu-Natal on some days.”

THE FOLLOWING WARNINGS HAS BEEN ISSUED

The South African Weather Service has issued the following warnings:

1. Orange level 5 warning for RAIN resulting in flooding is expected over the City of Cape Town on Monday.
2. Yellow level 2 warning for RAIN resulting in localised flooding is expected over the southern parts of the West Coast, Cape Winelands and Overberg Districts on Monday.
3. Yellow level 2 warning for WIND resulting in localised problems for high-sided vehicles on prone routes
   are expected over the West Coast, Cape Winelands, Central Karoo as well as the southern parts of the
   Namakwa Districts from Sunday afternoon into Monday.
4. Yellow level 2 warning for WIND leading to difficulty in navigation at sea is expected offshore between
   Cape Columbine and Cape Agulhas from Sunday evening into Monday.
5. Yellow Level 2 Warning for WAVES resulting in difficulty in navigation at sea is expected between Cape
   Columbine and Cape Agulhas from Sunday evening spreading to Plettenberg Bay on Monday, subsiding
   on Tuesday morning.

ALSO READ: Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for all South African provinces, 26 June 2021