Know your weather alerts
Find out how the South African Weather Service categorises weather warnings.
The South African Weather Service makes a point of warning residents about any severe weather anomalies that could be potentially dangerous.
Severe weather is explained as an extreme meteorological event or phenomenon, which presents a real hazard to human life and property and has the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human and animal life.
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The service has separated alerts into three categories:
• Special weather advisory:
An alert raising awareness, up to five days in advance, to either expected large-scale potential disruptive weather systems that could later lead to specific watches or warnings with time, or to less urgent alerts of uncommon conditions.
• Severe weather watch:
An alert calling for preparedness to weather hazards that most likely will occur within one to three days and that could lead to disruptive and disastrous conditions.
• Severe weather warning:
An alert calling for reaction due to a very high certainty of a severe weather hazard that is already occurring or imminent within 24 hours and that could lead to disruptive and disastrous conditions.
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The categories are put in place to help residents better prepare and understand weather alerts.
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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Zaid Khumalo (managing editor) zaidk@caxton.co.za , kathorusmail@lokshinmedia.co.za
or Aaron Damane (journalist) aarond@caxton.co.za
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