Lowveld’s in for a very wet and stormy Christmas, says SAWS
Cooler and wetter conditions are anticipated in the Lowveld and central parts of South Africa, particularly on Christmas and Day of Goodwill, according to SAWS.
After a spell of hot to very hot and mostly dry weather across large parts of the country the last few days, several weather systems are anticipated to affect parts of the country this festive weekend and into early next week, resulting in cooler and wetter conditions over the eastern and central parts of South Africa, particularly on Christmas and Day of Goodwill, December 25 and 26, said SAWS in a statement.
Also read: Another storm wreaks havoc across Mbombela
“A weak cold front along the south coast of the country and a surface high-pressure system will cause cloudy and cooler conditions with light rain along the Western Cape’s south coast and the Eastern Cape’s coastline on Monday and Tuesday, December 25 and 26. Ahead of these systems, a low-pressure over Botswana and an upper-air system will cause scattered to widespread showers and thundershowers over the Free State, North-West, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo from Sunday onwards, when local heavy rainfall and cooler conditions are possible, particularly on Christmas and Day of Goodwill.”
Weather outlook for Sat and Sun: 23 and 24 Dec '23
Fine in the W interior where it will be very hot to extremely hot in places, otherwise partly cloudy and warm to hot with isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers over the central and E parts, except for the NE.#SAWS pic.twitter.com/UnUoR2vVcE
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) December 21, 2023
SAWS further predicts that, although isolated severe thunderstorms may initially be possible over the central and southeastern interior on Sunday and possibly into Monday, the atmosphere will eventually become tropical in nature, allowing for locally heavier and widespread rainfall.
“Current numerical weather models indicate 24-hour rainfall amounts in the order of 15-30mm across large parts of the eastern provinces from Sunday, with heavier amounts possible over parts of the Highveld on Tuesday due to the influx of tropical moisture. The public is urged to regularly follow any updated weather forecasts and warnings that may be issued during this time. While the eastern parts of the country will be cooler, the western interior will remain hot and dry, with strong winds in places, reaching near gale force strength along the south-west coast of the Western Cape. These weather conditions will continue to favour the development and spread of veld fires and hamper current firefighting operations.”
