Don’t put away those winter woollies just yet – another cold front expected

Just when Capetonians dusted off their sandals and t-shirts‚ storm clouds started gathering‚ with temperatures reaching more than 30°C in most parts of the city on Monday.

Senior forecaster for the South African Weather Services Puseletso Mofokeng said a cold front is expected to hit the Mother City by Tuesday afternoon‚ with gale force winds of speeds of up to 65km/h and higher as well as heavy rains expected on Wednesday.

“The cold front is expected by Tuesday afternoon in Cape Town but strong winds are also expected in the Northern Cape and therefore we still have the caution for runaway fires in place. This warning is for Northern‚ Western‚ Eastern Cape and the Free State‚” Mofokeng said.

He said that an up to 80% chance of rain is on the cards. The rain in Cape Town is expected to clear by the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“On Wednesday the cold front will be moving over the western areas of the country‚ we expect rainfall to cover Durban - that is 60% chance of rain for Durban on Wednesday and Thursday‚” Mofokeng said.

In Gauteng rain will only be making its landfall by Wednesday in Vereeniging and Carletonville clearing up only by Sunday.

“No chance of rainfall across the Gauteng province for Tuesday but much of the rainfall will come overnight by Wednesday all the way to Saturday. We are expecting a 60% chance of rain for most of the week ending with a 30% chance of rain for Gauteng by Sunday” he said.