ZULULANDERS – and South Africans at large – are in for a cold weekend, with snow forecast over parts of the country.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) yesterday (Thursday) issued a statement forecasting the cause of these wet and cold conditions which will affect most parts of the country this weekend.
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Some regions will experience worse weather than others – with snowfall, flash floods, and disruptions to transportation and electricity supply in some areas of KZN and Lesotho.
Traffic accidents peak during such weather, and all road users are encouraged to take extreme caution on wet surfaces.
The weather system responsible is a cut-off low pressure system that occurs in the middle troposphere – typically associated with a ridging anticyclone at the surface, driving cold air from the Southern Ocean.
Once established, a cut-off low usually brings bitterly cold conditions, heavy rainfall (which may lead to flooding) and/or snowfall (in winter) over high ground.
While most weather systems are ‘travelling’ disturbances, a cut-off low is unique as it is slow-moving, resulting in the persistence of the same weather conditions for up to three days on average.
The greatest impact for this weekend appears to be over eastern parts of the Northern and Eastern Cape provinces, Free State, North-West, Gauteng, KZN and Highveld region of Mpumalanga.
Historically, cut-off lows can occur anytime of the year, but they tend to peak during March-April-May and September-October-November.
Cut-off lows may be comparable to tropical cyclones in terms of producing severe weather, heavy rainfall and floods. However, not all cut-off lows are associated with severe weather.
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