It’s Christmas in July in the Lowveld
The unusual snowfall captivated hundreds of Lowvelders as they made their way to the Long Tom Pass, Belfast and Dullstroom to experience the magic.
Lowvelders awoke to a once-in-a-lifetime winter wonderland on Tuesday morning, July 11.
For the first time in almost 20 years, residents through the city spotted snow-capped mountains on their drive to work. The most unusual snowfall caused extreme excitement as scores of people from across the Lowveld and neighbouring areas made their way to Long Tom Pass near Lydenburg, Dullstroom and Belfast to experience the magic for themselves.
By 12:00 on Tuesday, Long Tom Pass had as many as 200 people gallivanting around in the snow, building snowmen and having snowball fights. The atmosphere could only be described as festive.
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While the SAWS had predicted it would melt during the day, snow still covered most of the area by 18:30, seeing an influx of people travelling to the area after work to get their chance to play in the snow before it all disappeared.
Social media was flooded with images and videos of the fun throughout the day. A Lowvelder, Andrew Wiggan, said he had last seen the snow-capped mountains from Mbombela about 40 years ago when he was a child.
“Perhaps Mbombela can now be known as an alpine city. It is very rare that we local residents can claim to see snow-covered mountains as a backdrop to the wonderful town we live in.”
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Another Mbombela resident, Alicia Whitting, spent most of Monday chasing the snow, stopping in Belfast, Dullstroom and Long Tom Pass. She said she had last seen snow on the mountain peaks from the city in 2006.
“Belfast was amazing and Dullstroom looked like a beautiful European town,” she said.
SAWS said it had reports of snow in Belfast, Dullstroom, Ermelo, Volksrust, Secunda and Long Tom Pass. It said it could not measure the amount of snow that had fallen in these areas due to other commitments at the time of going to press.
“Snow is not common in some of these areas, due to or influenced by their topographical/climatological features,” it said.
While the unusual weather conditions created a magical day out for families and friends, it was not without its challenges.
Snow had already started falling on Monday afternoon, and by the evening, the snow cover in the Long Tom Pass was thick and slippery to navigate, resulting in the road being closed off. It was opened again on Tuesday morning, however, motorists were advised by the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison’s spokesperson, Moeti Mmusi, to travel with caution. The pass was closed again later in the day when a truck jackknifed across the road but was later opened.
