City of Cape Town staff attend to services amid severe weather seen on Tuesday. Photo: X/City of Cape Town
It truly has been a torrid winter for the Western Cape.
From multiple cold fronts to the flooding of schools to dams bursting their banks and trees and structures being damaged by severe storms, this was certainly a season to remember.
On a few occasions, snow fell in high-lying areas on the same day that schools were being flooded by rain in low-lying areas just a few kilometres away. Unfortunately, several residents were reported missing during the flooding and 17-year-old French rugby player Medhi Narjissi was swept out to sea.
At one point the Western Cape was declared a disaster area.
So it should be no surprise that the South African Weather Service (Saws) has revealed that Cape Town and other south-western parts of South Africa received record-breaking rainfall for the month of July.
“Beginning in June 2024, rainfall accumulation was notably below normal, consistent with seasonal
forecasts that predicted a drier winter period. However, the landscape changed drastically in July, as a
series of cold fronts swept through the region, some of which brought severe weather conditions and
substantial rainfall,” Saws reported.
It revealed its Cape Town city station recorded 317,6mm of rain in July 2024, far exceeding the long-term
average of 128,0 mm for this month.
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“This notable total not only exceeded the historical average, but it is also the highest monthly rainfall recorded for July since comprehensive records began in 1960.”
Last year only saw 81,8mm.
The Cape Town International Airport station recorded the highest monthly rainfall total since its inception in 1956. This amount was three times the average for July.
Other Saws stations to break records included the station in Newlands at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens that received over 500mm of rain for July 2024, making it the wettest month on record for this station since 1999.
The stations in Franschhoek, Kenilworth, and Villiersdorp – with records dating back to the late 2000s – also reported significant rainfall for the month. These three stations set new records since their inception, even surpassing the total monthly rainfall recorded during the September storm of 2023.
The Cape Winelands stations, including Paarl, Worcester, and Jonkershoek, have experienced substantial rainfall this winter season, with long-term monthly records being broken in these areas too.
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