SA warned of cold, wet week ahead

Cape Town - It will be a wet and very cold week ahead for South Africans, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned.

A week of very cold temperatures is expected across the majority of South Africa from today, lasting well into the coming weekend.

The cold temperatures follow in the wake of a cold front that moved over the eastern parts of the country on Sunday evening, sustained by the development of a cut-off low pressure system over the south-eastern parts of the country.

“The cut-off low pressure system will be responsible for the majority of adverse weather expected over the next three days. This includes snowfall accumulation of between 5 and 15cm over Lesotho and the southern Drakensberg mountains in the Eastern Cape, rainfall of a disruptive nature along the Wild Coast and north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal as well as wet conditions accompanied by very cold temperatures over the high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal,” the SAWS said.

Showers and thundershowers are expected over the southern and eastern parts of the Eastern Cape, which may result in localised flooding of roads and settlements along the Wild Coast and the adjacent interior.

Very cold conditions are expected over the north-eastern high ground of the southern Drakensberg, where disruptive snowfalls are expected from today into tomorrow morning.

“This could result in major roads and mountain passes being closed as well as loss of livestock and access to some remote communities being interrupted due to snowfall or icy roads,” it said.

In the Free State, light snowfalls are expected over the high-lying areas of Clarens, Fouriesburg, Ficksburg and Memel. Heavier snowfalls may occur over Phuthaditjhaba.

Temperatures in KwaZulu-Natal are expected to drop significantly today, especially over the extreme western parts in the Harry Gwala, uMgungundlovu and uThukela district municipalities.

The Sani Pass may be temporarily closed due to snowfall.

Cape Times