SA told to brace for icy snap

2009-07-14 08:28

Fanie van Rooyen and Sandra Coetzee

 Johannesburg – The entire country will be affected by an icy cold front, which will cause a sharp drop in temperatures across South Africa.

Two warnings were issued by the Bloemfontein weather office this week to warn residents of the Free State and Northern Cape that extremely low temperatures were coming and that there was the possibility of snow.

On Monday the South African Weather Service (Saws) said a heavy cold front, which would come in from the north of the Western Cape on Tuesday morning, would cause extremely low temperatures in the central parts of the country on Wednesday.

Temperatures in Pretoria could fall to 0º on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, and in Johannesburg the mercury will fall to -2º in some places, said Mark Todd, Saws meteorologist.

Cold weekend

On Wednesday morning, Bloemfontein residents will wake up to a temperature of -4º. Todd said Bethlehem would be even colder with a minimum temperature of -7º.

Temperatures in the central parts of the country would gradually start to rise from Thursday, said Todd, but added that it would still be very cold at the weekend.

"The Cape has experienced a series of weaker cold fronts over the past week, but none of these affected the central parts of the country," said Todd.

"Residents of Limpopo. Mpumalanga, North-West, Gauteng and the Free State can expect a bitterly cold morning with frost on their lawns on Wednesday," said Todd.

According to him, light showers can be expected in parts of these provinces on Wednesday afternoon. Easterly berg winds could still keep temperatures relatively high in Limpopo and Mpumalanga on Tuesday, but by Wednesday the cold front will also strike these provinces.

"Unfortunately the cold will persist for a while yet over most of the country."

It will be significantly warmer in KwaZulu-Natal and on the east coast. - Beeld, Volksblad

- News24