Brrr! Parts of SA woke to sub-zero temperatures on Thursday

Getting out of bed proved a challenge for many on Thursday as parts of the country woke to below-freezing temperatures.

In Gauteng, temperatures in Johannesburg dipped overnight to a low of -1°C and in Vereeniging to -3°C.

Potchefstroom in North West was also a chilly -3°C while Bloemfontein hit -4°C and Bethlehem -5°C. Sutherland in the Western Cape, often the coldest place in the country, sank to a bleak -8°C, according to the South African Weather Service.

Temperatures were expected to climb steadily during the day.

Cold fronts brought heavy rain and cold to the Western Cape earlier in the week and the effects are now being felt further inland.

Eskom said on Thursday that technicians were still working to restore electricity to about 7,000 homes in the Eastern Cape after fierce winds damaged electricity infrastructure, leaving up to 54,000 customers without power on Wednesday.

The Daily Dispatch reported that winds of up to 80km/h had caused mayhem in parts of the Eastern Cape, uprooting trees and damaging homes overnight on Tuesday and into Wednesday.

Motorists were urged to drive with caution in the Free State early on Thursday, with reports of ice on the roads.

In the wake of severe storms in the Western Cape over the past few days that led to homes and roads being flooded, and 122 power outages across the metropole, a silver lining revealed itself as dam levels in Cape Town climbed rapidly after heavy rain on Tuesday.

Cape Town's dams averaged 69.6% full.