Soggy week ahead

2008-03-17 18:00

Johannesburg - National Water Week got off to an appropriately soggy start on Monday with cold, wet weather over most of the country showing no sign of letting up.

"The rain is not unusual for this time of year, but the temperatures have dropped to below normal," said SA Weather Service forecaster Siyabonga Mthethwa.

He explained that rains usually fell during March, signalling the transition from summer to autumn, but this year, it was much colder.

He blamed a cold front followed by a high pressure system which brought in "maritime air", making the air moist.

Ermelo and Johannesburg were the coldest parts of the country, with temperatures hovering around 11°C on Monday afternoon.

More rain over weekend

There should be a temporary clearance on Thursday and Friday, but over the weekend another system would move in bringing more rain over the central parts of the country, which would move towards Gauteng and Limpopo.

And, putting paid to any hope of curling up in front of the heater, Eskom has warned of a wave of load shedding with the risk remaining high until Thursday.

Spokesperson Andrew Etzinger said this was due to the increased demand.

He was not immediately available to comment on whether the rain would take the fizzle out of the coal stores that power the utility's plants, but said that there would at least be no load shedding over the Easter weekend.

"Big business will be closed and the demand for electricity will decrease significantly," he said.

Jo'burg traffic problems

The rain also slowed traffic down significantly with Johannesburg's metro police deploying officers to busy intersections to free up the jams, said spokesperson Wayne Minnaar.

However, he said there had been "nothing hectic" regarding accidents.

A homeless man, who said he sleeps in the bush, commented that he hoped he did not get a cold.

"And I get asthma," he said.

- SAPA