Brace yourselves for a very wet Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning as thunderstorms and heavy downpours are en route to Gauteng.
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The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a yellow level 2 warning for heavy downpours from thunderstorms later today (Wednesday, 15 February) over Gauteng. The SAWS added that soils are saturated and river and catchment systems are full or overflowing in some areas.
“The expected rainfall may lead to further localised flooding impacts”.
This will result in localised flooding of susceptible informal/ formal settlements and low-lying bridges, difficult driving conditions due to wet roads or pooling of water on roads with possible minor vehicle accidents, closure of roads crossing low-water bridges, and poor driving conditions.
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The SAWS has also issued an orange level 5 warning for heavy downpours, especially over southern Gauteng, which may lead to significant impacts much later this afternoon on Wednesday, 15 February, and mainly this evening.
“Models indicated heavy rainfall amounts [50-80mm]. This may lead to flooding of roads and settlements, disruptions to traffic flow due to major roads being flooded or closed, danger to life due to fast-flowing streams, some communities may be temporarily not accessible/ cut-off, and damage to bridges and roads”.
