Mother Nature plans a nasty surprise before spring has sprung.
In the next few days, freezing weather will arrive as not one, but two, cold fronts make landfall.
Cape Town yesterday issued a severe weather warning for today, predicting snow, heavy rainfall and very rough seas along the Western Cape coast.
Snowfall and low temperatures are expected for high-lying regions of Western Cape and Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho.
In Cape Town the mercury will drop to about 15C today and to 12C tomorrow, says the SA Weather Service.
The cold front will reach Gauteng tomorrow. The temperature is expected to fall to a maximum of 14C in Johannesburg on Friday. In Pretoria, the highest temperature will be 16C; in Vereeniging 12C.
Winds of up to 45km/h are expected and the weather service has issued a fire warning for the interior.
Strong winds and widespread rains that could result in flooding are expected when the second cold front makes landfall later today, said Richard Bosman, executive director for safety and security for the City of Cape Town.
He advised avoiding the Atlantic seaboard, the False Bay coastline and The Strand and Gordon's Bay beachfronts. Rough seas with waves in excess of 6m are expected.
"Residents along the coast should be prepared for storm surge impacts on their property," he said.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 