Rains accompanying cold front may improve Cape dam levels slightly

Forecasters at Weather SA believe that rains accompanying a cold front set to hit the Western Cape this weekend may increase dam levels slightly‚ offering some relief to the drought-stricken province.

They say the cold front‚ which is expected to make its way to the Western Cape late on Saturday or in the early hours of Sunday‚ will bring moderate amounts of rainfall to the Western Cape‚ Eastern Cape and the Free State.

Snow is also forecast over most mountain ranges in the area. Johannesburg will experience chilly conditions on Monday which should clear up by Wednesday.

While the service could not quantify the likely impact on dam levels in the Western Cape‚ the region is forecast to receive an average of 20mm of rainfall‚ with more in mountainous areas‚ according to the service.

It is also possible that snowmelt in the surrounding mountain ranges may lead to more runoff in the dams‚ Weather SA said.

However‚ speaking to TimesLIVE‚ Bob Scholes‚ a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand‚ believes that the likelihood of this cold front making a significant contribution to the dam levels in the province is small.

“The replenishment of the dam levels in the province could take several years unless there is a massive amount of rainfall‚” Scholes said. “This cut-off weather system is not typically what we see in Cape Town‚ which experiences frontal weather systems of winter rainfall‚” he added.