Intense cold front expected to hit South Africa this week

The SA Weather Service reported that significant rainfall and snowfalls are forecast for the mountainous regions of the Western and Eastern Cape as well as the extreme southern areas of the Northern Cape from Wednesday this week.

An intense cold front which is supported by a steep upper air trough will bring strong winds, rain and showers to the western areas of the Western and Northern Cape as well as snowfalls from Wednesday.

Ahead of this cold front, windy conditions are expected over the south-western parts of the country with strong to gale force north-westerly winds (50-70 km/h) over the interior of the Western and Northern Cape on Tuesday, which are expected to continue into Wednesday where gusts  of 80-90 km/h can be expected.

According to SA Weather Service, windy conditions will spread eastwards over the Free State and northern interior of the Eastern Cape on Wednesday, and strong winds are also expected along the western coastline of the Western Cape spreading along the southern coastal regions and along the Eastern Cape coast by Thursday.

❄Intense #coldfront expected on Wednesday into Thursday (10-11 June 2020).

⚠️Media Release⚠️: Intense cold front expected to hit parts of South Africa. pic.twitter.com/ZzNARdI1pb

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) June 8, 2020

The strong winds are expected to result in difficult driving conditions, especially for high-sided vehicles on routes prone to the impacts from strong winds. In addition, very rough to high seas, with wave heights between 4.0 to 6.0 m can also be expected along the south-west coast of the Western Cape, spreading along the south coast and reaching the KwaZulu-Natal coast by Friday. During conditions such as these, it is advised that low-lying coastal rocky shores are avoided.

Rainfall (5-20 mm) is expected to start on Tuesday afternoon, June 9, over parts of the Western Cape ahead of the cold front, with continuous rainfall expected until Thursday, June 11.

The bulk of the rainfall is expected on Wednesday, with amounts of between 20 and 50 mm, although in mountainous areas of the Western Cape, more significant falls are expected, possibly 30 to 60 mm.

Flooding of roads and settlements is expected as well as a possible danger to life if attempting to cross fast flowing streams.

Rockfalls and mudslides are also possible, especially along prone coastal routes

⚠️Watch⚠️:10/06/2020 00h00 TO:12/06/2020 00h00 Snow- Disruptive snowfalls leading to temporary closure of mountain passes expected on the western high grounds of Western Cape on Wednesday (10/06/2020) evening, spreading to the east on Thursday(11/06/2020) into Friday morning.

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) June 8, 2020