Stormy weather expected over South Africa: 5-7 October

MBOMBELA – According to the South African Weather Service, severe thunderstorms with a risk of heavy downpours and strong gusty winds are expected to hit Mpumalanga, the Free State, North-West, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Gauteng by Thursday, continuing into the weekend.

These conditions which will be accompanied by an intense upper trough (extension of a low pressure in the upper portions of the atmosphere) will result in a band of thundershowers through the western and central parts of the country.

Some of these thunderstorms are expected to become severe during the course of Thursday until the weekend as they progressively spread east during the remainder of the week.

Light snowfalls are also expected on the mountains bordering the Eastern Cape and Lesotho.

It will start warming up from Sunday.

As a result of this expected extreme weather, the South African Weather Service has issues warnings and information in an attempt to inform the public of the following possible impacts that can be experienced:

• Wet and slippery roads
• Occasional poor visibility
• Strong gusty winds would make for dangerous driving conditions
• Heavy downpours will result in flash flooding in places which could lead to flooding of some settlements and roads.

Precautions to take during flooding

• If walking outdoors, avoid crossing rivers and swollen streams where water is above your ankles.
• Just 15 centimetres of fast-moving flood water can knock a person off their feet, and a depth of 60 centimetres is enough to float a car.
• Never try to walk, swim or drive through fast-moving flood water. Stop, turn around and go another way.
• Listen to the special warnings on radio and/or television.
• Never drive into water covering the road. You would not know how deep it is or if the road has been washed away.
• If the vehicle stalls, leave it immediately and seek higher ground.
• Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize flood dangers.