The SA Weather Service (Saws) has issued warnings that a cold front will sweep across the country, bringing freezing temperatures, scattered showers and snowfall over high-lying areas, including parts of the Eastern Cape and the Drakensberg mountains bordering Lesotho.
The weather service warned there was the possibility of disruptive snow over the high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape, which could also lead to icy roads on Wednesday.
For the weather outlook on Tuesday, Saws forecaster Lehlohonolo Thobela said there was the chance of isolated to scattered rain over the southwestern interior, with widespread coverage mainly over the southwestern part of the Western Cape.
He said the rain would fall over the western half of the Eastern Cape, extending into the extreme southeastern part of the Northern Cape. Very cold conditions are expected over the high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape, which may result in some snowfall over the Drakensberg.
A warning has been issued for damaging waves along the West Coast and into the South Coast, as well as damaging winds along the East Coast. The waves may result in localised disruptions of beachfront activities and interrupt some harbours and ports.
“We’re also expecting navigation at sea to be difficult with these conditions, so take caution if you’re around those areas,” he said.
On Wednesday isolated showers and rain will dominate the Western Cape, the eastern part of the Northern Cape, the Free State, the southern part of the North West and southern Gauteng, into Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the western half of the Eastern Cape.
For the eastern half of the Eastern Cape, scattered showers and rain are expected into the afternoon, covering the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal, with snowfall expected over the high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape into the Lesotho mountains.
“In our warnings for tomorrow, we have a possibility of some disruptive snow over the high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape, which may also lead to some icy roads. It is a yellow level 1, which means we're expecting minor impacts, with a medium likelihood of this disruptive snow happening, especially over areas north of Nxuba (Cradock) to areas around Maletswai (Aliwal North) and most parts of the Drakensberg mountains that lead to Lesotho.”
Pretoria residents can expect a fine day on Tuesday, with a maximum of 20ºC.
On Wednesday there will be fine conditions start in the morning and into the afternoon, when the temperatures are expected to peak at 21ºC, though partly cloudy conditions are expected later in the afternoon and into the evening in Pretoria.
“Once you get to Thursday, cloudy conditions are expected, with cold temperatures and the possibility of rain showers from early morning into the afternoon, a maximum of 12ºC is expected, with a minimum of 8ºC on Thursday in Pretoria.
“On Friday temperatures will start to pick up, with a maximum of 17ºC.”
The fine conditions will become partly cloudy by the afternoon on Saturday.
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