Weather update: Hail, heavy rain and severe thunderstorms expected in several provinces

Following a week of extreme heat and dryness over southern Africa, parts of South Africa are in for a prolonged spell of widespread rainfall, heavy in places, the SA Weather Service warned.

Heavy rain is expected from Saturday over the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal and will spread to parts of the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo on Sunday.

The weather service has warned South Africans of a dramatic drop in daytime maximum temperatures over the eastern provinces, including Gauteng.

Much of the highveld can expect maximum temperatures in the low teens on Monday and Tuesday, with Johannesburg likely to peak at only about 11 to 12°C. Some high-lying areas may even see single digit maximum temperatures

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“In addition, a significant lowering of the altitude at which sub-zero temperatures occur, commonly referred to as the ‘freezing level’, will most likely result in disruptive snowfall over the Drakensberg mountains and Van Reenens Pass on the N3 highway in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday. Lighter snowfalls can be expected over higher peaks of adjoining provinces such as the Eastern Cape and extreme eastern Free State,” said the weather service.

“There is even a small, but distinct possibility of light snowfalls over the Roossenekal pass as well as the Belfast and Dullstroom areas of the Mpumalanga escarpment early next week.”

Cold, moist and windy conditions are expected over the Highveld from the east on Sunday, resulting in severe thunderstorms with large, damaging hail, heavy downpours and strong, damaging surface winds.

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Provinces which may be affected by severe storms include north-eastern Free State, western KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, southern Limpopo as well as the highveld and escarpment of Mpumalanga.

Alerts

• A yellow level 4 warning for disruptive rain over parts of the Wild Coast and adjacent interior of the Eastern Cape.
• A yellow level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms leading to gusty winds, heavy downpours and large amounts of small hail over most parts of KwaZulu-Natal, the south-eastern parts of Mpumalanga, south-eastern parts of the North West and the eastern parts of the Free State.
• A yellow level 2 warning for damaging waves between Cape Columbine and Plettenberg Bay.
• A yellow level 2 warning for winds between Alexander Bay and Cape Agulhas.

Saturday’s weather forecast

1. Gauteng

• Weather: Partly cloudy and hot with isolated thundershowers in the afternoon, more scattered in the south.
• UVB Sunburn Index: High

2. Mpumalanga

• Weather: Partly cloudy and warm with isolated showers and thundershowers, especially in the southern highveld.

3. Limpopo

• Weather: Partly cloudy and hot to very hot with isolated showers and thundershowers in the west and south.

4. North-West Province

• Weather: Partly cloudy, windy, and hot with isolated thundershowers, more scattered in the southeast.

5. Free State

• Weather: Partly cloudy, windy, and warm to hot with isolated thundershowers, particularly in the east.

6. Northern Cape

• Weather: Partly cloudy in the south and west in the morning, otherwise fine and warm but cool to cold in the south. Windy in places over the interior and along the coast.

7. Western Cape

• Weather: Partly cloudy and cool to cold. Fine and warm over the west coast, but cloudy along the south coast and eastern interior with isolated to scattered showers and rain, more widespread along the eastern parts of the south coast. Windy conditions along the coast.

8. Western Half of the Eastern Cape

• Weather: Cloudy and cool to cold with scattered showers and thundershowers, especially widespread in the south. Light snowfalls expected over high ground at night.

9. Eastern Half of the Eastern Cape

• Weather: Cloudy and cold with scattered showers and thundershowers. Widespread along the coast and adjacent interior, isolated in the extreme north. Light snowfalls expected over the northern mountains at night.

10. KwaZulu-Natal

• Weather: Cloudy and cool to cold with widespread showers and thundershowers, less scattered in the extreme north. Moderate to fresh south-westerly to southerly winds along the coast. UVB Sunburn Index: Low