A sustained spell of tropically sourced rainfall is on the cards for a large part of southern Africa, especially over the central and eastern interior in the coming days and extending through the weekend.
Thunderstorms are expected to accompany the rain, with some storms expected to become severe, associated with heavy downpours and a risk of localised flooding.
Impact-based severe weather warnings have been issued by the South African Weather Service (Saws).
“An upper-air trough dominates the circulation pattern over the central interior of South Africa, resulting in scattered to widespread showers and thundershowers over the eastern part of the Northern Cape, the western part of the Free State and most parts of the Eastern Cape,” the forecasters said.
“As the upper-air system shifts eastwards, it is expected to evolve into a tropical temperate trough (TTT) over the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country. A TTT is a rainfall producing weather system that typically transports significant amounts of moisture from the tropical regions of Africa into the mid-latitudes, assisted by a mid-latitude upper-air trough, often resulting in widespread and persistent rainfall over large parts of the country.”
This system is expected to affect the eastern interior from Friday, bringing persistent rain and thundershowers to parts of North West, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
An orange level 5 warning for severe thunderstorms has been issued for North West and the Free State for Friday, while yellow level 2 and yellow level 4 warnings have been issued for Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.
The TTT system is expected to move further east on Saturday and Sunday, with the rainfall band shifting towards the north-eastern parts of the country.
Saws said this means widespread showers and thundershowers are expected over the Lowveld areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, which remain vulnerable due to saturated soils and the potential for additional runoff. This may increase the risk of localised flooding of rivers and low-lying areas, particularly where heavy rainfall persists.
The City of Johannesburg emergency management Services urged residents to exercise caution on Friday due to the weather warning.
“Avoid crossing river streams and flooded areas and always monitor young children to stay away from river streams and drainage channels,” Saws said.
“Faith-based organisations are urged to avoid visiting river streams day and night to conduct baptism and cleansing rituals during this rainy period to prevent incidents where congregants might be swept away while conducting the rituals.
“Motorists are urged to exercise caution while driving and to extend space between vehicles to ensure a safe following distance.”
TimesLIVE
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