The South African Weather Service (SAWS) confirms a brief tornado touched down in Bishopstowe yesterday as a ‘weak storm’ interacted with the local landscape.

SAWS senior forecaster Tokelo Chiloane says the event occurred between 17:20 and 17:40 following reports of a storm near the Pietermaritzburg outskirts.

Photos of the funnel cloud circulated quickly on social media, supported by lightning alarm apps showing several strikes in the vicinity.

How the storm developed

Chiloane tells Caxton Network News that the curved landscape likely helped the storm rotate and produce small hail.

“Soon after, stronger storms moved in from the west, increasing wind moisture and instability. This created the perfect setup for a brief tornado,” Chiloane says.

According to her, spotting the tornado in real time was difficult because of the 17:51 sunset and changing data from satellites operated by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.

It could not be confirmed whether there was any damage in the area.

Weather outlook and current warnings

The weather service’s travellers forecast expects a cloudy day for Pietermaritzburg today with morning fog and scattered thundershowers.

The only impact-based warning currently active is a yellow level 1 warning for damaging waves between Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape and Kei Mouth in the Eastern Cape.

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