Severe storms expected in several provinces

With emergency services having spent the morning mopping up after Monday's storms, the weather service has issued a fresh storm alert. Tuesday's warnings are for heavy rain, damaging winds and possible hail across several provinces, including Gauteng.

A storm alert for the whole of Gauteng is for the period 3pm to 9pm.

Weather SA has warned that between midday and 11pm, severe thunderstorms - with possible heavy downpours, hail and strong winds - could erupt over the extreme eastern parts of the Free State and in the northeastern parts of North West.

From 2pm to 10pm, severe thunderstorms are expected over the highveld areas of Mpumalanga, which include parts of Nkangala and Gert Sibande districts, as well as the central and southern parts of Limpopo, including the southern parts of Capricorn and Sekhukhune districts.

The storms, while bringing welcome rains across SA, also highlight the pollution problems in some areas.

Tshwane has rolled out mopping-up operations, notably around the Hennops River catchment and Centurion Lake areas.

The city said flooding, siltation or sedimentation and water pollution through solid waste littering and sewer spillages from upstream are an ongoing "medium risk". 

The pollution of the Hennops River can be attributed to formal and informal developments along the river bank in Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, the city said.

"Cleaning and clearing up the rubble flowing down the Hennops River is a continuous practice for municipal workers in Tshwane during the rainy season," the city added.