‘Severe’ thunderstorms, cold and fire warnings issued for parts of South Africa

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) predicts thunderstorms for several parts of South Africa on Saturday, while cold weather is expected in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Weather warnings: Saturday, 19 April

It warned that “severe” thunderstorms are expected over the central and southern parts of the Northern Cape. It said the conditions could lead to localised flooding of roads and bridges as well as damage to infrastructure.

SAWS also cautioned that high fire conditions will be seen in the Cederberg, Breede Valley, Laingsburg and Kannaland local municipalities in the Western Cape.

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Provincial weather forecast

Here’s what to expect in your province on Saturday, 19 April:

Gauteng:

Cloudy and cool with isolated showers and thundershowers.

Mpumalanga:

Morning fog patches over the escarpment, otherwise cloudy and cool with isolated showers and thundershowers, except in the Lowveld.

Limpopo:

Partly cloudy and cool to warm, becoming cloudy with isolated showers and thundershowers except in the Lowveld and Limpopo Valley.

North West:

Morning fog patches in places at first, otherwise cloudy and cool with isolated showers and thundershowers.

Free State:

Morning fog patches in the west, otherwise cloudy and cool with isolated showers and thundershowers.

Northern Cape:

Morning fog patches along the coast and over the eastern parts. Otherwise, it will be partly cloudy and cool to warm with isolated showers and thundershowers, except in the extreme western parts.

The wind along the coast will be light and variable, becoming moderate to fresh south to south-easterly.

Western Cape:

Fine and cool to warm, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon except in the north-western parts.

The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh southerly to south-easterly, becoming strong from the evening but moderate to fresh west to south-westerly along the south coast.

Eastern Cape (western half):

Fine and warm to hot, becoming partly cloudy in places in the afternoon.

The wind along the coast will be light to moderate north-easterly, becoming south-westerly in the west in the afternoon.

Eastern Cape (eastern half):

Partly cloudy and cool to warm, but cloudy in the extreme north with isolated showers and thundershowers.

The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh north-easterly.

KwaZulu-Natal:

Cold in the extreme south-west with morning fog over the central and western interior, otherwise partly cloudy and cool but warm in the extreme north-east with isolated showers and rain in the west.

The wind along the coast will be light to moderate westerly to north-westerly south of Cape St. Lucia in the morning, otherwise moderate to fresh northerly to north-easterly but southerly to south-westerly in the north.

The expected UVB sunburn index: High

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