Wind, rain - and fire - warning

2009-06-25 00:15

Pretoria - The SA Weather Service has issued warnings of very cold, wet and windy conditions in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape on Thursday.

Further heavy falls of rain - 50mm or more - were expected in places mainly in the morning over the south-western mountains of the Western Cape and the Overberg, it said.

But at the same time the SAWS cautioned that conditions favourable for the development of runaway fires were expected in places in the KwaZulu-Natal interior, as well as in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga lowveld.

Two barges ran aground in rough seas on Wednesday - one at Jacobs Bay and the other at Knysna - and the Weather Service said very rough seas with waves in excess of 5m were expected south of the Orange River.

Destructive waves of up to 9m were expected between St Helena Bay and Port St Johns.

The SAWS added that gale to strong gale force - 65km/h to 85km/h - westerly to north-westerly winds were expected between Lamberts Bay and Port St Johns, spreading to Durban by Thursday night.

The high ground of the Western Cape, the south-western high ground of Northern Cape, the high ground areas of the Eastern Cape and Lesotho could expect snow.

The Weather Service warned that there was a possibility of heavy snowfalls on the northern mountains of the Eastern Cape and over southern Lesotho towards Thursday evening.
   

 

- News24