Cooler Weather Arriving In Cape Regions, SAWS Says

Weather conditions are expected to change in many regions in South Africa thanks to a cold front and cut-off low-pressure system that will introduce wintery conditions to the Western Cape, southern parts of the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape from September 19, 2024.

As per the SA Weather Service (SAWS), colder weather will move into KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Mpumalanga on Sept. 20. By Sept. 21, it will also reach Gauteng, North West, and Limpopo.

"Disruptive snowfall and bitterly cold conditions are expected to affect the high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape (especially the north-eastern high-ground) from Thursday, spreading to the eastern and southern high-ground of the Free State, the western and southern high-ground of KwaZulu-Natal and extending as far as the southern Highveld of Mpumalanga on Friday into Saturday morning," the SAWS said, SA News reported.

It added, "It will be cold to very cold over parts of the Western Cape interior and the Eastern Cape on Thursday. Strong to near-gale force winds with rough seas of four to six meters are likely along the Western Cape coast today, spreading to parts of the Eastern Cape coast overnight and to the coast of KwaZulu-Natal tomorrow."

The weather department also reported that light snow is likely in the eastern mountains of the Western Cape and the northern highlands of the Eastern Cape, starting Thursday afternoon and continuing into the evening.

Snowfall may become more disruptive in the northeastern highlands of the Eastern Cape later in the evening. Meanwhile, very hot temperatures, reaching above 38 to 40°C, are expected in parts of the Limpopo Valley and Lowveld of Limpopo before the cold front arrives.

This system will bring widespread showers and thunderstorms to parts of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, with heavy rainfall possible along the coast. Scattered thunderstorms might also occur in parts of Gauteng, western Limpopo, eastern Northwest, Free State and Mpumalanga.

Cold daytime temperatures of 4 to 8°C are expected in the high areas of the Eastern Cape, eastern Free State and interior of KwaZulu-Natal, where widespread snowfall is likely. The weather service urged South Africans to regularly follow weather forecasts on television and radio.