A geostationary satellite image (Meteosat Second Generation) of southern Africa at 08h00 SAST this morning, Friday 22
January 2021. Severe Tropical storm “Eloise” is clearly visible as an impressive swirl of clouds, located in the middle of the
Mozambique Channel, lying to the north-east of Beira, Mozambique. RGB false-colour image courtesy EUMETSAT 2021.
Tropical Storm Eloise: Weather service issues Level 4 warning for SA
As Tropical Storm Eloise continues to wreak havoc in Mozambique, it will soon make landfall in some parts of SA.
A geostationary satellite image (Meteosat Second Generation) of southern Africa at 08h00 SAST this morning, Friday 22
January 2021. Severe Tropical storm “Eloise” is clearly visible as an impressive swirl of clouds, located in the middle of the
Mozambique Channel, lying to the north-east of Beira, Mozambique. RGB false-colour image courtesy EUMETSAT 2021.
Tropical Storm Eloise has been making headlines in recent days and while the system continues to show extreme signs of force in Mozambique, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) said it won’t be long before it makes landfall in South Africa with damaging effects.
WHERE IS TROPICAL STORM ELOISE AS OF FRIDAY 22 JANUARY?
Tropical Storm Eloise is located in the central part of the Mozambique Channel as of Friday and is moving west south-westwards at a moderate speed of approximately 22 km/h.
“During the past 24 hours, it has intensified significantly, given the very warm ocean waters (sea surface temperature (SST) close to 30°C ) of the Mozambique Channel, which provide an abundant source of energy to drive the system,” SAWS said in a statement.
WHERE WILL IT MOVE IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS?
During the next 24 hours, the system is expected to move closer to Beira, Mozambique.
“Moreover, Eloise is expected to further intensify beyond its current status of ‘Severe Tropical Storm’, reaching ‘Tropical Cyclone’ status during tomorrow [Saturday], ahead of landfall near Beira in the latter half of tomorrow [Saturday],” SAWS said.
As a landfalling Tropical Cyclone, one can expect “very destructive” winds of 118 to 166 km/h.
TROPICAL STORM ELOISE: NORTH-EASTERN PARTS OF SA CAN EXPECT HEAVY RAINFALL
SAWS expects Tropical Storm Eloise to continue along a fairly straight path through southern Mozambique during the course of Sunday, 24 January 2021. It will then make its way to SA bringing on some heavy tropical rain.
“It is at this time that the north-eastern parts of South Africa can anticipate the onset of heavy tropical rain, particularly along the escarpment and lowveld areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, as well as the northern sector of Limpopo. The northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal can also expect heavy rains during Sunday. These conditions are expected to continue into Monday,” it added.
There is a severe risk of “disruptive rain” which can be associated with widespread flooding and flood-related damage of infrastructure including housing, roads and bridges. While the heaviest rains are expected on Sunday and Monday, there will still be rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, albeit much lighter, which can result in further flooding.
LEVEL 4 WARNING ISSUED FOR SA
Apart from heavy rainfall, SAWS also expects strong surface winds that will result in south-easterly to easterly gale-force winds — approaching 80 km/h — especially over northern Limpopo on Sunday 24 January 2021.
Due to this, a level 4 (Yellow) warning of a significant risk of damaging winds has been issued by SAWS. The weather service said these regions rarely experience such winds, therefore, there could be significant damage to informal houses and structures, trees may even be uprooted in the process, it said.
