Cape Town - The South African Weather Service (Saws) has warned that road networks and mountain passes connecting communities in the southern Drakensberg in the Eastern Cape could be affected on Thursday, with some possible snow expected on the roads and railways.
Areas of potential impact include Molteno, Barkley East, Lady Grey and Matatitele, and there could be isolated loss of livestock in this northern region, Saws said on Wednesday.
“Counterparts of the Saws in Lesotho have issued a forecast for bitterly cold temperatures with heavy snowfall over Lesotho, and these conditions may spill over to QwaQwa in the north-eastern Free State.
“These conditions are expected to result from the passage of a cut-off low, which is currently situated along the West Coast of the country,” Saws said.
Very cold temperatures have already set in on the western regions of the Free State and North West provinces, with Saws warning that conditions could claim livestock in places over the western region of the Northern and Western Cape provinces.
Showers and excessive lightning may result in localised damage of infrastructure and settlements, but some isolated thunderstorms could produce strong, damaging winds over the regions.
Swells may reach 6.5m offshore of the south coast of the Eastern Cape, and those entering the harbour may cause a lot of boat movement, which can damage some vessels and break mooring lines.
“Disruptive rain in places has already affected some communities along the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal and the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, and these rainy conditions are likely to continue on and off into Wednesday.
“Wet, cold to very cold conditions are expected to spread to the central provinces of the country, with a risk of storms that may produce heavy downpours, excessive lightning and large amounts of small hail. These weather events may result in localised damage to infrastructure and settlements over the western parts of the Northern Cape.”
Conditions are expected to clear later on Thursday, and the remainder of the week will see cool and largely rain-free conditions, Saws said.
Cape Times