‘Small possibility’ of Cyclone Freddy affecting Limpopo – SAWS

POLOKWANE – The South African Weather Service says there is a possibility (albeit small) that Cyclone Freddy might move inland and affect the north-eastern part of Limpopo.

The Category 4 storm is expected to make landfall over Madagascar today (February 21) and has already hit the islands of Mauritius and La Reunion, bringing with it heavy rain and strong winds.

The SAWS has described Freddy as a relatively compact, but intense system, with average winds of approximately 200 km/h.

“Maximum wind gusts in association with this system are however likely to be significantly stronger, estimated to be about 285 km/h.”

Freddy is expected to swirl over the southern half of Madagascar during the latter half of this coming week and will weaken significantly once it moves inland.

However, the weather service’s Kevin Rae said a potentially dangerous (and uncertain) phase will occur late on Wednesday (February 22) and into the early hours of Thursday (February 23), when the system is expected to move into the very warm waters of the southern Mozambique Channel.

“Currently, sea-surface temperatures in this part of the Channel are of the order of 28°C to 29°C and will almost certainly lead to a re-intensification of Freddy. That is why the intensity and movement of Freddy, as well as later possible landfall by the system, somewhere along the coast of Mozambique, is highly uncertain,” he said.

The weather service says in the event that Freddy does move inland, the system’s weakened, dissipating remnants would still have the capacity to deliver significantly heavy rainfall as well as the possibility of extensive flooding.

“In the light of the recent (unrelated) flooding event which affected Limpopo and Mpumalanga last week, any renewed flooding over last-mentioned regions could potentially be catastrophic,” a press release read.

Rae said they, in consultation with National and Provincial Disaster Management structures, will continue to monitor developments on a 24/7 basis and will issue regular updates regarding Freddy’s path.