Winter gives SA a break

2007-08-08 15:26

Johannesburg - Most South Africans can look forward to sunny and warm weather this weekend, the South African Weather Service said on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Mnikeli Ndabambi said sunny and warmer weather was expected from Thursday through to Sunday.

Only the southwestern and southern parts of the country could expect some more wintry weather, he said.

Ndabambi said a high-pressure system was re-establishing itself over the northern parts of the country and so sunny and warmer weather would return and persist through the weekend.

Gale force winds and rough sea conditions

Strong northwesterly winds were expected in the western interior on Thursday.

Warm to hot, dry and windy conditions would generate conditions favourable for the development of runaway fires in the Eastern Cape on Thursday, spreading to KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.

These conditions were expected to reach the lowveld areas and the highveld and escarpment of Mpumalanga on Saturday.

However, an upper air cut-off low with an associated cold front was expected to approach the south-western Cape on Thursday, bringing more wintry weather to that region which would persist through to Friday.

Rain, gale force winds and very rough sea conditions would set in over the south-western Cape later on Thursday, with very cold, wet and windy conditions invading the western high ground of the Western and Northern Cape Provinces.

Showers were likely to persist into Saturday, although the gales and rough seas would subside.

Cooling and a few light coastal showers were expected to spread to the southern Cape from Friday to Saturday, to the Eastern Cape by Saturday, and KwaZulu-Natal by Sunday.

Updated forecasts would be available on the South African Weather Service website: www.weathersa.co.za.

- SAPA