Floods and freezing weather can't keep people away from snowy Ceres
Despite floods and the freezing weather conditions‚ locals in the Western Cape increasingly flock to the Ceres area for snowfall sighting.
It has been raining since end of last week.
According to Imilda Ontong‚ Ceres Tourism marketing manager‚ the town is receiving high volumes of visits for the snow sighting. “We usually get this kind of crowd when we have snow; it is mostly people from around the province. So far we have not heard of any casualties or road assistance requests‚” Ontong said.
This is good news for local businesses.
“It has been raining constantly since Saturday afternoon and it is still raining. The mountains‚ I saw this morning‚ were covered in snow. [There’s a] very thick layer at the top. The mountains are now covered in clouds‚ I could not take photos‚” said Lise Wheeler‚ secretary at Theewater Sports Club in Villiersdorp.
Wheeler said it was freezing‚ but “locals are very excited about the rainfall. The drought affected us badly‚ but now with the recent rainfalls we have many visitors to see for themselves how the dam is filling. Joyous moments are expressed by the visitors streaming to see dam rising.”
She advised pet owners to ensure that they look after their dogs‚ feed them and keep warm as they are always first to suffer.
There are reports of rescues at Theronsberg pass‚ which links Ceres with Karoopoort.
Roads across the city of Cape Town are experiencing floods after heavy rainfalls.
Flooding has occurred due to the water being prevented from entering the gully‚ which is the entry point into the storm water system‚ as a result of obstructions at the mouth of the catch-pit or gully‚ said councillor Brett Herron‚ mayoral committee member for transport and urban development authority.
“Our teams are on high alert and are attending to the incidents as we become aware of them. We are also working in close collaboration with other city departments. The Roads and Stormwater depots are clearing roadways and unblocking drains‚” said Herron.
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An intense cold front is moving over the Western Cape and the southern Northern Cape‚ spreading into the Eastern Cape on Monday. The public and small stock farmers are advised that very cold conditions with snowfalls as well as wet and windy conditions are expected‚ which will spread to areas over southern Free State and north-western KwaZulu-Natal tomorrow‚ said SA Weather.
Strong interior winds are expected over the southern parts of the Northern Cape‚ Western Cape and the Eastern Cape.
Severe morning frost is expected over the central and eastern parts of the Northern Cape‚ North West‚ Free State‚ northern and central parts of the Eastern Cape‚ Gauteng‚ the highveld of Mpumalanga and western and central parts of KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday.
Here's your five-day weather forecast for Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth: