‘Rare’ snow expected to continue to fall over some parts of SA

Rare snow is expected to continue to fall over some parts of the country, leaving cold and wet weather conditions over Gauteng heading into November.

On Sunday, some areas around Gauteng reported hail the size of golf balls outside Kameeldrift in Pretoria and Hartbeespoort, while other places experienced extreme thunderstorms, gusty winds and downpours of rain. Snow also fell in the eastern Free State, parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

Hot temperatures to return

The South Africa Weather Service (Saws) forecaster William Msimanga said the skies will start to clear by the weekend.

“We expect the cold and cloudy conditions to persist into today, when the conditions will start improving with only afternoon showers expected for the rest of the week,” he said.

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Msimanga said not only will the rain clear up, but the maximum temperatures will start to rise again in Gauteng.

“By Thursday, clear conditions will dominate the country with hot temperatures expected,” he said.

Msimanga said parts of Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga and KZN can expect afternoon thunderstorms going into the weekend. Saws has issued a level 2 yellow warning for severe thunderstorms with hail, gusty winds and downpours in Gauteng and North West.

Vox weather meteorologist Annette Botha said more snow was possible in Lesotho and the mountain passes of the southern areas of the Free State. Botha said the cold weather and the snow were not because of a cold front, but rather a cut-off low.

“There is a cut-off low over the western part of SA, alongside a high pressure system which was feeding the intensity of the cut-off low. That is why the temperatures dropped so severely, also causing hail storms on Sunday,” she said.

ALSO READ: Level 2 warning: Severe thunderstorms, hail and heavy rain to hit parts of Gauteng

Because the country was technically still in spring, the roller-coaster in temperatures recorded was normal, Botha said.

‘Rare snow’

“The intense cold and sudden drop in temperatures is, however, rare. Every second year in October Saws has recorded snow, especially over Lesotho and the Western Cape mountain range. But the snow in the Free State and places like Harrismith is extremely rare. It doesn’t happen often,” she said.

The two weather systems working together was the main cause of the phenomenon.

“More than 50mm of rain is expected over the northeastern areas, which could lead to localised flooding,” she warned.

City of Tshwane EMS spokesperson deputy chief Charles Mabaso said storm damage had been reported to the department, but nothing serious.

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“We are considering monitoring warnings and alerts issued by the Saws to monitor known hot spots for flooding,” he said.

Hennops Revival founder Tarryn Johnston said they were on standby for localised flooding.

“Storms affect our clean-up work. We have to keep ourselves safe when we work in the river,” she said.

Johnston said they were not preparing for the worst… yet.