News24 | Cold front brings rain, snow, and extreme weather across SA

A cold snap is expected to bring low temperatures to the country from Thursday, according to the South African Weather Service.

• Warnings of flooding have been issued for Cape Town, the Cape Winelands, and the West Coast.
• Strong winds in the Northern Cape’s central interior could cause damage, particularly in informal settlements.
• Snow is expected over the Drakensberg Highlands, with sleet forecast for Gauteng and parts of Mpumalanga by Friday.

A cold front is expected to make landfall, bringing about rain and snow in some areas in the country, but other parts of SA are expected to experience wind and possible veld fires.

The South African Weather Service said the cut-off low-pressure system was expected to bring rain to the Western Cape and the Northern Cape from Wednesday.

Forecaster Lehlohonolo Thobela said there were warnings that the rain could become disruptive on Thursday, affecting various areas, from the Cape Winelands to Cape Town and the West Coast, “which obviously might result in some localised flooding, considering that they’ve had a lot of rain for about a week”.

 “Areas that are around the western parts of the Western Cape are expected to start seeing rain.”

Meanwhile, wind is also expected over the central interior of the Northern Cape.

These winds, according to Thobela, might result in some damage, especially in informal settlements.

Due to the dry conditions in the region, coupled with the wind, a danger warning has been issued for veld fires in some areas.

On Thursday, the cold front is expected to move eastwards, bringing a scattered to isolated chance of rain and showers over the Eastern Cape.

“Cold temperatures are expected, especially over the central and western parts of the country, with the possibility of snow for the highland areas of the Drakensberg. And over the eastern parts, we start seeing a drop of temperatures into Friday,” Thobela said.

On Friday, Gauteng is expected to experience sleet in the morning and showers in the afternoon.

The southern parts of Mpumalanga are also expected to see some sleet.

READ | Thursday’s weather: Snow, heavy rain, and damaging winds as cold front sweeps across SA

Thobela said another cold front would make landfall over the Western Cape over the weekend, which could result in rain and lead to flooding in the southwestern parts of the province.

“The rain in the northeastern provinces will be mainly on Friday, and it will cover the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, as well as the Eastern Cape,” Thobela added.

“So, temperatures are expected to drop into the weekend, and they should start picking up from the late afternoon on Monday.”