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2 months ago
20
The South African Weather Service has issued warnings of severe thunderstorms, with a Yellow Level 2 alert in place for parts of the Free State, North West and the Northern Cape.
Sarayut Thaneerat/Getty Images
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued warnings of severe thunderstorms, with a Yellow Level 2 alert in place for parts of the Free State, North West and the Northern Cape, where heavy downpours, damaging winds, hail and excessive lightning could lead to localised flooding and damage to infrastructure.
This comes as SAWS announced on Thursday that a weak La Niña weather pattern is now affecting South Africa, warning that above-normal rainfall is likely to persist through the festive season and into early 2026, increasing the risk of flooding in several provinces.
Impact-based warnings
Yellow Level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms accompanied by heavy downpours, damaging winds, excessive lightning and hail, resulting in localised flooding and damage to infrastructure and settlements, are expected over the extreme northern parts of the Free State, in places in North West and the extreme northern parts of the Northern Cape.
Weather outlook for Friday & Saturday, 19 - 20 December 2025.
Partly cloudy & warm to cool conditions are expected with afternoon isolated to scattered showers & thundershowers over the central & eastern parts of RSA. pic.twitter.com/lzbMIxlC5O
In the SAWS’ colour-coded weather warning system, yellow indicates a moderate risk of impact that requires caution and awareness, while orange indicates that higher-risk impact is expected, requiring increased attention and preparation. SAWS uses the numbers to indicate the likelihood of weather-based impacts occurring. Levels 2 and 6 are high, and Level 4 is low.
The weather in your province
Gauteng: Cloudy and warm with scattered showers and thundershowers throughout the day.
Pretoria: 17°C — 27°C
Johannesburg: 15°C — 25°C
Vereeniging: 16°C — 26°C
Mpumalanga: Morning fog along the escarpment, then cloudy and cool with isolated showers and thundershowers developing.
Mbombela: 18°C — 25°C
Ermelo: 14°C — 24°C
Emalahleni: 16°C — 26°C
Standerton: 15°C — 26°C
Skukuza: 20°C — 28°C
Limpopo: Morning fog on the escarpment, otherwise cloudy and cool to warm. Expect isolated showers and thundershowers, becoming scattered in the south-west.
Polokwane: 18°C — 26°C
Phalaborwa: 20°C — 28°C
Tzaneen: 18°C — 26°C
Musina: 21°C — 29°C
Lephalale: 21°C — 29°C
Mokopane: 18°C — 29°C
North West: Partly cloudy and warm to hot with scattered showers and thundershowers.
Klerksdorp: 17°C — 27°C
Potchefstroom: 17°C — 26°C
Mahikeng: 19°C — 24°C
Rustenburg: 18°C — 26°C
Vryburg: 19°C — 29°C
Free State: Partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated showers and thundershowers. Extreme northern areas are under a thunderstorm warning.
Bloemfontein: 17°C — 30°C
Welkom: 17°C — 29°C
Bethlehem: 14°C — 27°C
Northern Cape: Fine conditions in the west and south, but partly cloudy and hot to very hot elsewhere. Isolated showers and thundershowers are possible in the north-east, with extreme northern parts under a thunderstorm warning. Coastal winds will be fresh to strong south-easterly to southerly.
Upington: 19°C — 36°C
Kimberley: 18°C — 32°C
De Aar: 16°C — 32°C
Alexander Bay: 14°C — 25°C
Springbok: 19°C — 36°C
Calvinia: 12°C — 37°C
Sutherland: 8°C — 32°C
Western Cape: Partly cloudy along the south coast early morning and evening, otherwise fine and hot to very hot. Cooler and more comfortable over the south-western and southern areas. Coastal winds are light and variable along the south coast, fresh to strong south-easterly to southerly elsewhere.
Cape Town: 16°C — 25°C
Vredendal: 14°C — 36°C
Riversdale: 12°C — 31°C
George: 13°C — 23°C
Worcester: 13°C — 36°C
Beaufort West: 13°C — 37°C
Oudtshoorn: 11°C — 36°C
Western half of the Eastern Cape: Morning fog possible in southern interior areas, then fine and warm with hot interior conditions. Clouds developing in the south-east from evening. Coastal winds start light and variable, becoming light to moderate south-westerly, then westerly from evening.
Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Morning fog on the escarpment, then partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated showers and thundershowers over interior areas. Coastal winds are light and variable in places, becoming light to moderate north-easterly, then south-westerly south of Coffee Bay from mid-morning.
Gqeberha: 11°C — 24°C
Makhanda: 11°C — 28°C
Cradock: 12°C — 35°C
Graaff-Reinet: 12°C — 35°C
East London: 15°C — 26°C
Port St Johns: 16°C — 27°C
Mthatha: 12°C — 31°C
Komani: 12°C — 32°C
Qonce: 12°C — 28°C
KwaZulu-Natal: Cloudy in the north-east with morning fog over interior areas. Otherwise, partly cloudy and warm with isolated showers and thundershowers in western and central interior regions. Coastal winds start light to moderate south-easterly in the north, becoming moderate to fresh north-easterly.
Durban: 20°C — 28°C
Richards Bay: 20°C — 30°C
Pietermaritzburg: 15°C — 29°C
Ladysmith: 15°C — 31°C
*This weather report was written with the support of Toqan AI.
