Strong winds and heavy rains: Several cold fronts to hit the Cape this week

Cape Town disaster management is on alert, with the SA Weather Service advising an intense cold front is expected to make landfall by Sunday evening, leading to heavy downpours on Monday morning. 

Wet conditions are forecast throughout the week as several cold fronts are expected.

In an advisory, the weather service said the cold front is expected to result in “windy, wet and cold to very cold conditions as well as very rough seas” in the Western Cape in the morning, and the Northern Cape in the afternoon.

“These conditions may result in difficult driving conditions during the morning commute, with localised flooding possible especially over the Cape Metropole, the Cape Winelands and the southern half of the West Coast District.”

Widespread rainfall of 20-30 mm is likely over the western parts of the Western Cape, with higher amounts of 45-65 mm likely near the western mountainous regions, which may result in localised flooding of susceptible informal settlements, low-lying bridges and roads and poor driving conditions.

Strong winds of 40-60 km/h are forecast for the interior of the Western and Northern Cape from Sunday afternoon into Monday, which may result in problems for high-sided vehicles on major roads.

Light snowfall is possible over the western high-lying areas of the Western Cape from Monday late afternoon into early Tuesday morning, with cold to very cold conditions expected. Small stock farmers are advised to provide shelter to animals during this week.

Rainfall is likely to continue over the Western Cape and western and southern parts of the Northern Cape on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

In contrast, “spring-like” weather is predicted for the north-eastern parts of the country this week with maximum temperatures in the low to mid-twenties. Warm to hot temperatures can be expected in the Lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo and the eastern parts of KwaZulu-Natal on some days.

An orange level 5 warning for rain resulting in flooding is expected over the City of Cape Town on Monday, with a yellow level 2 warning for rain resulting in localised flooding over the southern parts of the West Coast, Cape Winelands and Overberg.

A yellow level 2 warning was also issued for wind leading to difficulty in navigation at sea between Cape Columbine and Cape Agulhas from Sunday evening into Monday, as well as high waves between Cape Columbine and Cape Agulhas from Sunday evening spreading to Plettenberg Bay on Monday, subsiding on Tuesday morning.

Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Centre said it is on standby to deal with any incidents related to the expected frontal system.

The city said rain of between 40-60mm was expected over the metropole on Monday. “In addition, strong winds are expected overnight, followed by very cold conditions and rough seas. Motorists should take extra caution when driving on the roads.”

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