POLOKWANE – The South African Weather Service says tropical cyclone ‘Freddy’ will affect the north-eastern parts of South Africa from early Saturday until Monday (25 to 27 February 2023) especially the escarpment areas of Limpopo and the Lowveld of Mpumalanga.
The weather service states the weather system will be semi-stationary along the north-eastern border for a few days.
Freddy made landfall along the eastern coastline of Madagascar on Tuesday night (February 21) where it weakened significantly due to the rugged terrain it encountered and was downgraded to an overland depression during the evening.
However, the system continued in a west-south-westerly direction and regained its strength on Wednesday evening (February 23) as it moved into the Mozambique Channel.
The weather service’s Wayne Venter said Freddy may reach near-tropical cyclone status yet again by tonight (February 23) while heading to southern Mozambique.
Message of the day for today 23 February 2023. pic.twitter.com/S7yM6994vh
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) February 23, 2023
How will this affect Limpopo?
Venter said the Vhembe and Mopani districts , and to a slightly lesser extent Ehlanzeni in Mpumalanga, will be impacted with very heavy rainfall in the order of 200 to 400 mm which may result in widespread significant flooding.
“This, after significant flooding occurred over the Lowveld and escarpment areas (such as the Kruger National Park) the last few weeks, may be catastrophic and cause prolonged and severe impacts,” he said.
In addition, the weather has service has issued a warning for the Capricorn district.
“Although not much rain is expected over other places in the north-eastern parts, residents of Capricorn (Limpopo), are urged to be extra vigilant as the situation may be exacerbated by the recent flooding events in these places.”
In addition to heavy rains, strong winds caused by Freddy are also expected in the north-eastern parts from Friday evening, with average speeds of about 45 km/h.
Weekend outlook for Polokwane
Thunderstorms and showers are expected in Polokwane this weekend with Sunday set to experience the most rain.
AccuWeather’s forecast suggests a 42% chance of thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon, while there is a 94% chance of showers on Sunday.
The weekend will start off on a warm note with highs of 30ºC and 28ºC expected on Friday and Saturday respectively, while Sunday and Monday will cool down to 25ºC and 24ºC.
