Thunderstorms possible by weekend but no significant rainfall – forecasters

Gauteng residents will have to wait a little longer for the rain as the mercury continues to rise.

Vox Weather meteorologist Annette Botha said it would remain hot and mainly dry over Gauteng for the rest of the week.

“Even though temperatures are expected to be above 30ºC this week, we are not expecting a heatwave yet,” she said.

Botha explained that a heatwave occurred when temperatures were 5ºC higher than the average temperature of the warmest month. “In Pretoria, the hottest month is January which has an average temperature of 28ºC.

“For it to be considered a heatwave, it needs to reach a temperature of 33ºC or higher and persist for three days or longer,” Botha said.

But she wouldn’t be surprised if a few heat-induced thunderstorms developed over Gauteng. “The clouds will likely only tease us and quickly blow away bringing little to no rain.

“By the weekend, the forecast is picking up that thunderstorms are likely over Gauteng, but there is no guarantee it will bring any significant rain,” she said.

Botha said long-term models indicated that Gauteng could expect a below-average start to the rainy season in spring and above-average rainfall in summer.

But Transvaal Agricultural Union of SA general manager Bennie van Zyl said it was too early in the season to be concerned.

“Many crop farmers, especially in the eastern parts of the country, would appreciate rain right now because they traditionally start planting around 15 October ,” he said.

Van Zyl said it would indicate a good season was ahead if it started to rain soon. “The extreme heat has become a problem for the farmers who irrigate because the load shedding has interfered with the irrigation cycles,” he explained.

Van Zyl said some vegetable crops were now at risk of sun damage or burn due to the extreme heat and the lack of rain.

Free State cattle farmer Tewie Wessels said: “During March, April and May we had above-average rainfall which is why our fields were so green.”

Wessels said the fields were getting dry now. “Our rain season will kick off soon. “If it doesn’t start raining by the end of October, things will start getting difficult for us,” he said.

Wessels said previously when it only started raining in November, he had to spend additional money on feed and water.

Free State Agriculture security committee chair and local farmer Jakkals le Roux said the fields were dry and that rain had been scarce.

“We need the rain and 30 to 50 millimetres would help a lot right now and would make a ton of difference come harvest time,” he added.

But Le Roux said he was confident that some rain would fall by next week.

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– marizkac@citizen.co.za