Extreme Weather Conditions Approaching Posted on 29 August 2013. “A series of cold fronts are currently approaching South Africa and are highly likely to introduce extreme winter weather over parts of the country during the next few days. The South African Weather Service wishes to advise the public that the Western Cape Province is expected to be particularly affected by this succession of severe winter weather. Strong to gale force winds, rough seas, heavy rains, snow as well as very cold conditions can be anticipated, with the south-western parts of the province likely to be the most severely affected. Heavy rains (totalling more than 50mm/24hours) are expected over the Cape Metro, Overberg and Cape Winelands districts. It is even possible that some mountainous localities could receive falls of up to 75-100mm/24hours. Further rain is expected over the above-mentioned areas, with the possibility of further heavy rain returning to the region on Friday. This geographic region has already experienced substantial rainfall during the month of August, suggesting elevated levels of soil moisture. Bearing in mind the magnitude of the rain expected from Wednesday through until Saturday, the threat of localized flooding will be dramatically increased. Residents of areas such as the Cape Flats and other localities with similarly poor drainage are thus alerted to the serious and persistent threat of flooding. Furthermore, motorists are also advised to be extremely cautious, as roads in the region will remain wet and slippery road until Saturday. There is also the risk of fallen trees and branches that could obstruct roads from time to time, with this aspect being particularly hazardous to motorists at night or when visibility is reduced due to heavy rain. Additionally, the middle and upper regions of the atmosphere are expected to become very unstable on Thursday and Friday over the South-Western Cape region, promoting a good chance of showers and thundershowers for a region where these phenomena are quite uncommon. By contrast, elsewhere in the country, sunny and warm conditions will prevail on Wednesday. It will however be windy and dry over the central interior of South Africa on Wednesday as well as Thursday and due to these conditions, the fire risk rating will remain in the “extremely dangerous” category. The public are therefore strongly advised not to make fires in the open as these can easily get out of control and result in serious economic losses to agricultural crops, livestock as well as adverse impacts on fauna and flora in nature reserves.Cold conditions are expected to set in over the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape as well as western Free State on Wednesday with these conditions finally reaching Gauteng later on Friday. Much of the country will also remain firmly in the grip of the cold weather during the coming weekend. Rapid temperature recovery is predicted countrywide from Monday onwards, bringing some degree of relief from the extreme winter weather but Capetonians should brace themselves for the onslaught of yet another cold front, likely to reach Cape Town on Tuesday 3rd of September.” Source : South African Weather Service Leave a Reply Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website
Posted on: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 10:26:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015