There were heavy downpours overnight, accompanied by strong wind and cold temperatures. Snowfall is also expected in some parts of the province. Weather forecaster Henning Grobbler says the Cape is in for the chilliest weekend so far this winter.
“The cold front has gone through from last night and there’s been a fair amount of rain. Cloudy and cold weather be expected today for the Cape Town region and there may still be some showers during the course of this morning, including this afternoon.”
Cape Town - The South African Weather Service has warned of disruptive weekend snowfall over mountain passes in the South, Central and North Eastern parts of the Western and Eastern Cape. Parts of the Western Cape can expect Heavy Rains & Flooding throughout the weekend!
The Eastern Cape can expect a 30% chance of rain except along the coast where a 60% chance of rain can be expected. The Northern Cape can expect a 30% chance for rainfall in the south-western parts and a 60% chance in the areas surrounding Sutherland and Calvinia.
The entire Western Cape can expect rainfall and an 80% chance of rain is expected in the western parts of the province as a cold front makes its way from the south-west.
This as a cold front is set to sweep over the Western and Eastern Cape from Friday, followed by a ridging high pressure system that will result in a deep layer of moisture, with low-freezing levels expected over the Eastern Cape.
The SA weather service forecasts showers can be expected in places on Friday, together with snowfall over the high terrain expected from mid-morning on Friday.
Meanwhile a cold front is expected to hit the Gauteng this weekend. Temperatures in Gauteng will reach their lowest on Sunday with temperatures between 16 and 17 degrees.
Forecaster Jan Vermeulen says the cold front is only expected to clear up by Tuesday. “It will become cold on Sunday and we have a cold front coming in on Sunday, but we don’t expect any rain.”
Cape Town - The South African Weather Service has warned of disruptive weekend snowfall over mountain passes in the South, Central and North Eastern parts of the Western and Eastern Cape, with heavy flooding anticipated in parts of the Western Cape.
#CapeStorm RAIN arriving into Cape Town with strong winds - roads will become dangerous at high speeds, leave early !! #SlowDown— Rob Byrne (@TrafficSA) July 1, 2016
#CapeStorm RAIN arriving into Cape Town with strong winds - roads will become dangerous at high speeds, leave early !! #SlowDown
Heavy rain leading to flash flooding is expected in places over the Cape Metropole and Cape Winelands from early Friday morning, subsiding by Friday evening.
The City of Cape Town has advised those affected to call the 107 Public Emergency Contact Centre in the event of flooding or any other weather-related emergency by dialling 107 from a landline (this is a free call) or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone. The relevant network charges will apply for such calls.
By Friday afternoon, rain is expected over the Eastern Cape and by the evening rain is expected over the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
Travellers are also being warned certain mountain passes may be closes, specifically the Outeniqua Mountains, Winterberg and the Southern Drakensberg towards the north-eastern corner of Eastern Cape.
Snow is expected to hit the Sneeuberg range near Nieu-Bethesda, but the snowfall is forecast to be short-lived with no closures required in the area.
In addition to this, the SA weather service has advised small stock farmers to take the necessary precautions against the expected cold, wet and windy conditions. Farmers will especially need to take care on Saturday night in the north-eastern extremes of the province.
High seas with wave heights in excess of 6m are expected between Cape Columbine and Plettenberg Bay on Friday, as gale force westerly to north-westerly wind at 65-70km/h can be expected on Friday afternoon between Slangkop and Cape Agulhas.
By mid-morning on Saturday, gale force westerly winds are also expected along the coast and adjacent interior between Plettenberg Bay and Port Alfred, only moderating towards Saturday evening.
While the SA weather service expects a further drop in maximum temperatures from Saturday, no rainfall has been forecast over the extreme Eastern parts of province, towards Mthatha.
Temperatures already began plummeting on Thursday with -3°C recorded for Gauteng's Vereeniging and the Northern Cape's Sutherland, while the mercury dropped to 0°C in Mpumalanga's Standerton, the Northern Cape's Calvinia as well as the Free State's Bethlehem.
On Friday, maximum temperatures in:
Along the coasts:
Sutherland is expected to drop to an icy -4°C.
Conditions are only expected to clear from Sunday, bringing with it sunny weather and temperatures recovering to the mid to high teens.
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