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The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a yellow level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms with possible damaging winds, large hail and heavy downpours resulting in localised flooding, over the
eastern parts of the Eastern Cape and the western parts of KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.
The warning follows an announcement that the first “named” tropical system for the 2023 calendar year, for the South-West Indian Ocean domain, has formed and intensified overnight.
The system is currently rated as a Severe Tropical Storm, with an estimated surface pressure of 991 hPa in the core of the system, said the weather service on Thursday.
“At 8am South African time, ‘Cheneso’ was positioned at 14.6 South 050.5 East, moving southwestwards at 17 km/h, just off the north-eastern coastline of Madagascar (in the province of Sava) and is expected to make landfall imminently, between the coastal towns of Antalaha and Sambava.”
According to the weather service, current guidance from numeric weather prediction models (NWP) shows the system is not expected to affect South Africa in the coming days.
“It is also important to mention that, as with any tropical marine system, there is much uncertainty
regarding the future movement of the system, beyond a few days ahead in time. Notwithstanding this uncertainty, there is the possibility that ‘Cheneso’ may enter the Mozambique Channel at some stage.”
Gauteng: Hot in the north, otherwise partly cloudy and warm with isolated afternoon showers and thundershowers. The expected UVB sunburn index: Very High.
Mpumalanga: Morning fog patches along the escarpment, otherwise partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated afternoon showers and thundershowers on the Highveld but scattered in the extreme south. It will be very hot in the Lowveld.
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Limpopo: Partly cloudy and hot with isolated afternoon showers and thundershowers in the extreme south-west.
North West: Partly cloudy and hot, with isolated afternoon showers and thundershowers.
Free State: Partly cloudy and hot, with isolated afternoon showers and thundershowers but scattered in the east.
Northern Cape: Cloudy along the coast in the morning with fog patches, otherwise partly cloudy and warm to hot but very hot over the northern interior. Isolated afternoon thundershowers are expected in the north-east.
The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh southerly to south-easterly.
Western Cape: Hot in places over the interior, otherwise fine and cool to warm but partly cloudy in the east.
Morning fog patches expected along the west coast where it will be cloudy, spreading into along the south coast by the evening and the wind will be light southerly to south-easterly becoming south-westerly to westerly from the afternoon. The expected UVB sunburn index: Extreme.
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Western half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated afternoon showers and
thundershowers in the extreme east. The wind along the coast will be Light to moderate south-westerly, becoming moderate to fresh easterly in the afternoon.
Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy and warm to hot with scattered afternoon showers and thundershowers, but isolated in the extreme west. The wind along the coast will be light to moderate
south-westerly, becoming moderate to fresh easterly in the afternoon.
KwaZulu-Natal: Partly cloudy and warm but hot to very hot in the north. Scattered afternoon showers and thundershowers are expected in the south and west, otherwise isolated except in the north-east.
The wind along the coast will be Moderate north-easterly in the north, otherwise southerly to south-easterly. The expected UVB sunburn index: High.
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