Chilly start to week in Pretoria

Brrrrrr… Pretoria residents have had a chilly start to the week.

VoxWeather forecaster Michelle Cordier said weather conditions will be sunny until Tuesday.

“From Wednesday, it will be cloudy with possible isolated rain and thunderstorms, but most showers will move over the southern parts of Gauteng (around the Vereeniging area).”

She said this is due to a cut-off low-pressure system that will move over the central parts of the country later in the week.

“The Free State, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal will be mainly affected by the system, with Gauteng only experiencing the outer bands of rain and thunderstorms.”

It will be mostly sunny again in Pretoria by Friday, but isolated showers are still possible over the southern parts of Gauteng.

“Thursday will be the coldest day of the week, with temperatures below 20°C, but by the weekend, temperatures will return around mid-20s.”

She said a strong cold front moved over the country this weekend.

“Sunday was cooler due to a strong cold front moving over the Cape Provinces on Saturday (Pretoria 21°C, Johannesburg 19°C) and then another 1 or 2 degrees cooler on Monday (Pretoria 19°C, Johannesburg 18°C), with a cold Monday morning behind that cold front (Johannesburg could see temperatures around 0°C and Pretoria around 2°C). However, it will be warmer again on Tuesday (above 20°C).”

One town in particular, Wepener, experienced a freezing low of -9.5°C on Monday, with widespread frost reported across the interior.