scorching temperature heat wave kzn

Home » South Africa Hit by Cold Front AND Heat Waves

South Africa Hit by Cold Front AND Heat Waves

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) says a typical “winter” series of cold fronts, with possible flooding, will be visiting  the Western Cape over the “spring” weekend bringing “good amounts of rain”… while most of north-eastern South Africa will continue suffering under persistent heat wave conditions with parts of KZN expecting temperatures in the 40s […]

By SAPeople
25-10-19 18:03
in Eish!
scorching temperature heat wave kzn

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) says a typical “winter” series of cold fronts, with possible flooding, will be visiting  the Western Cape over the “spring” weekend bringing “good amounts of rain”… while most of north-eastern South Africa will continue suffering under persistent heat wave conditions with parts of KZN expecting temperatures in the 40s today.

The cold front arrived in the early hours of Friday morning in Cape Town with persistent rain and showers, and is expected to spread to the east during the course of the day.

SAWS says a second cold front is due in the Western Cape on Sunday (27 Oct), with a slight reprieve on Saturday.

“The bulk of (today’s) rainfall is expected over the south-western parts during the morning, with periods of heavy downpours, which could potentially result in localized flooding, especially in informal settlements and increase travel times on the busy morning roads.”

SAWS said about 10 to 20 mm of total rain was expected over the south-western parts, with accumulations of 30 to 50 mm over mountainous areas.

Ahead of the cold front, windy conditions are expected over most parts of the Cape provinces with strong north-westerly winds (50-60 km/h) over the southern interior.

Heat Wave

scorching temperature heat wave kzn

Meanwhile in contrast, a heat wave with persistently high temperatures is expected over the eastern parts of the North-West and Free State as well as the Lowvelds of Mpumalanga and Limpopo from Friday, the entire provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng from Saturday, continuing until at least Monday!

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government has issued a press statement warning of “scorching weather conditions to hit KZN”. The province said: “It’s going to be a sweltering day in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, with the mercury set to peak in the late 30 and early forties in some parts.”

The South African Weather Service says the province will be hit by “severe thunderstorms, and uncomfortably hot weather”.

The maximum temperature for Eshowe on Friday is 40 degrees Celsius, while the temperature in Ulundi and uPhongolo is expected to rocket to 42 degrees Celsius.

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Heat wave conditions have been hitting parts of the country over the past week, with cyclists forced to abandon a race on Sunday in KwaZulu-Natal as temperatures reached 39 degrees near Drummond.

SAWS said the maximum temperature expected on Monday will be above 36°C for most of Limpopo and the Lowveld of Mpumalanga.

On Sunday night, current affairs show Carte Blanche explores the reasons behind some of South Africa’s declining water sources as Gauteng is gripped by heatwaves and the Vaal Dam has dropped below 50%.

Possible Flooding in the Western Cape

Over the southwestern parts, a bit of break in terms of rain is expected on Saturday, before the second cold front moves through on Sunday morning, which will result in rain settling over the south-western parts of the province, spreading to the east during the day and persisting into Monday, says SAWS.

The weather service warned however that “pooling of water on the roads is likely as soil will already be saturated from Friday’s rain”. This could cause traffic disruptions during peak morning traffic in the affected areas on Monday morning. In addition, cold
conditions will be felt across most parts of the Western Cape province on Monday into Tuesday, with a high pressure system ridging behind the front, circulating the cold air.

Updated weather info can be found at the SA Weather Service Twitter account @SAWeatherServic.