Level 4 warning for rain issued in Western Cape

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued warnings for severe weather conditions expected to hit the Western Cape this weekend.

A series of intense cold fronts are expected to make landfall over the western parts of the Western Cape on Sunday and Monday evening, resulting in high rainfall amounts mainly in the south-western parts of the province on Tuesday evening.

Rainfall accumulations are expected to reach between 50-80mm over the mountainous areas, warned the weather service. These high rainfall accumulations are likely to cause localised flooding in these areas.

A yellow level 3 warning for wind has also issued in the province from Sunday.

“Ahead of an approaching cold front, strong north-westerly winds with speeds between 50-60km/h, gusting up to 80km/h, are expected over southern Namakwa, the western Cape Winelands, Central Karoo, northern parts of Garden Route districts and the City of Cape Town from Sunday until Tuesday. These strong winds are likely to cause damage in these areas,” warned the weather service.

A yellow level 2 warning for wind and waves has been issued from Sunday afternoon.

“Strong north-westerly wind with speeds between 50-60km/h, associated with a cold front, is expected along the coast between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday. Together with significant south-westerly waves of 4.0 to 4.5m on Monday morning into Tuesday, these conditions may result in difficulty in navigation at sea,” warned the weather service.

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Saturday’s weather forecast

Gauteng: Fine and cool weather. The expected UVB sunburn index: Very High.

Mpumalanga: Fine and cold to cool but partly cloudy in the east.

Limpopo: Fine and cool but partly cloudy in the east.

North West: Fine and cool weather.

Free State: Morning fog patches in the extreme east, otherwise fine and cool.

Northern Cape: Fine and cool to warm, but hot along the coastal areas. The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh northerly to north-easterly, becoming north-westerly from the afternoon.

Western Cape: Fine and warm, but hot in places over the extreme north-western and extreme eastern parts of the south coast. The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong northerly to north-easterly, becoming north-westerly from the afternoon. The expected UVB sunburn index: Low.

Western half of the Eastern Cape: Fine and cool, but warm weather in the south. The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh north-westerly.

Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Fine and cool, but warm weather in the south-west. The wind along the coast will be light to moderate north-westerly, becoming north-easterly in the afternoon.

KwaZulu-Natal: Morning fog over the interior, otherwise fine and cool but warm in the north-east. The wind along the coast will be light to moderate northerly to north-westerly in the morning, otherwise moderate north-easterly. The expected UVB sunburn index: Moderate.