It’s time to get out your umbrellas because it’s going to be a wet Tuesday afternoon over Gauteng.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) released a statement for a yellow level 4 severe thunderstorm warning for today, October 15 from 14:00 until 23:00.
The City of Johannesburg, Mogale City and Rand West City (Randfontein and Westonaria) are some of the areas in Gauteng and surrounds to be affected.
“With heavy downpours leading to localised flooding of susceptible roads, localised damage to infrastructure is expected over Gauteng, the eastern parts of the North West province, extreme north-eastern Free State and the extreme south-western parts of Limpopo.”
They added models are showing areas of slow-moving thunderstorms and some places can receive 40mm to 50mm of accumulated precipitation from 14:00 into the evening.
“Significant impacts are possible due to it being the first significant rainfall for the season, therefore run-off is expected to be high, combined with possible blocked drainage systems.”
The impacts are as follows:
• Flooding of roads and bridges, formal and informal settlements
• Danger to life due to fast-flowing water and streams
• Roads blocked due to falling trees
“If possible, stay indoors and off the roads, avoid crossing rivers and swollen streams where water is above your ankles. If trapped in a vehicle during a flood, abandon it and climb to higher ground. In buildings, move valuables to a safe place above the expected flood level. Load the WeatherSmart App, scroll to the last page and use two fingers to navigate the storm tracking application.”
