Inclement weather in the forecast for the Cape

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of inclement weather for parts of the country from Saturday into Monday. The predicted downpours come amid weeks of prolonged heatwaves in several parts of the country.

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An intense low-pressure system, known as a cut-off low, is forecasted to bring widespread showers and thundershowers to many parts of the country this weekend into early next week (6 to 9 April).

‘’Cut-off lows are large weather systems notorious for causing widespread flooding, as evidenced by events such as the well-known KwaZulu-Natal flooding in 2022 and the Laingsburg flooding in 1981. These weather systems can also bring damaging winds, severe thunderstorms, and even snow, depending on the season in which they develop. Cut-off lows are most frequent during the Autumn and Spring seasons, with the highest frequency during the month of April,’’ said SAWS in a statement.

According to the weather service, tropical moisture has been transported from our neighbouring countries to the central and eastern interior of South Africa since Wednesday.

‘’Persistent showers and thundershowers may lead to flooding over the central and eastern parts of the country, particularly from Sunday into Monday, while severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall and large amounts of small hail are possible over the western interior on Sunday into Monday. There is also an indication of heavy rainfall over parts of the Overberg and south-west coast of the Western Cape on Monday into Tuesday as the cut-off low exits along the southern coast of the Western Cape. The Cape south-west coast may also experience a strong to gale force south-easterly wind, which could affect coastal marine routines and operations.’’

‘’Cool to cold maximum temperatures are also expected across parts of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal from Saturday, which will spread to the remainder of the country on Sunday into Monday. Day-time temperatures are expected to be in the high teens and low twenties across most parts and will even go down to the low teens over the high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal,’’ it added.

The public are urged to take the necessary precautions during this weekend and early next week. This includes avoiding crossing flooded roads, bridges, and swollen streams.

The City of Cape Town Disaster Risk Management Centre says its teams will be on standby, in the event of any potential weather-related impacts.

 

Done By: Esobusi Mkangelwa