Brace for cold, wet and snowy weather

Many parts of SA are in for a rough three days weather-wise, with severe thunderstorms, heavy downpours, cold temperatures and snow predicted from Monday.

The SA Weather Service (SAWS) warned of adverse weather conditions over the central and eastern parts of the country from Monday until Wednesday.

Between five to 10cm of snow is expected to fall over the Drakensberg.

“The weather system responsible for this is called a cut-off low pressure ..... 

“Widespread rainfall, in the form of showers and thunderstorms, will start [Monday] across the central and southern provinces and slowly move eastward during the late afternoon and evening,” SAWS said in a statement.

“Rainfall accumulations of 20 to 40mm in a 24-hour period are expected, with some areas possibly exceeding 50mm. 

“Due to the ground already being mostly saturated over the central and eastern interior of the country, these showers will result in localised flooding of susceptible roads, low-lying areas and bridges. 

“The Wild Coast and adjacent interior can expect significant rainfall tomorrow evening, resulting in flooding of roads and settlements.”

The weather service said severe thunderstorms accompanied by hail and “damaging winds” were expected over the central interior on Monday, shifting eastward on Tuesday.

“These storms could result in localised damage to settlements as well as localised structural damage.”

Cold temperatures are also expected over the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Gauteng, on Tuesday.