Weather update: Cold front to reach central provinces by Saturday

The South African Weather Service (Saws) has confirmed that a cold front is heading towards the central parts of the country and should make landfall by Saturday.

“A cold front is currently making its way over the western interior of the country, expected to reach the central and eastern provinces during the course of tomorrow [Saturday].”

In addition, residents in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape can prepare for a cloudy and rainy weekend, with snowfall expected over high-lying areas.

Weather weekend update

Snow and cold front alerts

Saws issued two Yellow Level 4 alerts for disruptive snowfall in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal and warned that the cold front would also impact Gauteng, Free State, North West and Mpumalanga.

“Widespread snowfall can be expected over the Eastern Cape and in KZN which may lead to disruptions”, the weather service said.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Saws said another cold front in the southwestern parts of the Cape provinces would lead to more rainfall.

Severe thunderstorms in Mpumalanga

In addition to the above, the weather service also issued a Yellow Level 4 alert for “severe thunderstorms along the escarpment areas of Mpumalanga [on Saturday] afternoon into the evening”.

“Hail, strong to damaging winds and heavy downpours [also] possible”, the weather service tweeted.

Saws explained that an “upper air trough is expected to result in thunderstorms over the eastern areas of Mpumalanga during the afternoon and evening hours”.

“These thunderstorms may become severe due to strong shearing environment and local low-level airmass interactions.”