The central and eastern parts of South Africa are expected to experience severe weather this weekend and early next week.

According to a statement issued by the South African Weather Service (SAWS), intense weather, caused by a cut-off low-pressure system, is expected to affect the country from tomorrow until Monday.

“This type of weather system is often associated with widespread rainfall and severe thunderstorms, which bring a risk of flooding, amongst others,” the statement reads.

The expected hazards include:

• Heavy rains with a risk of flooding in places
• Severe thunderstorms
• Strong, damaging winds
• Large amounts of small hail
• Excessive lightning

There will also be a significant drop in daytime temperatures.

“Possible impacts include flooding of settlements and other properties, dangerous driving conditions, damage to infrastructure (due to flooding and strong winds) and the disruption of essential services.

“There could also be danger to life due to fast-flowing streams of water.”

These impacts, with a varying degree of severity, are expected over the central interior (the North West, the Free State, the eastern parts of the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape) and KZN tomorrow, spreading to the eastern parts of the country (Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KZN) from Sunday into Monday.

Parts of SA experience the wettest October in years

October, the start of the rainy season for South Africa’s summer rainfall regions, brought above-normal rainfall to several areas and was one of the wettest Octobers on record, says SAWS.

“Several measuring stations recorded rainfall totals that far exceed their long-term averages, with some reporting more than four times their average October rainfall. While a large part of the country experienced below normal rainfall, within that area, there were still some stations that had their wettest October over the past 31 years.”

Extreme rainfall affected several provinces, particularly over the summer rainfall region of the country, and produced widespread departures from typical October rainfall patterns.

“This may have had some notable impacts on sectors such as agriculture, human settlements, water management and disaster risk reduction.”

In comparison, the western and north-western parts of the country remained relatively dry, with totals mostly below 50mm, consistent with their typical October climatology.

“The outlook for the remainder of the summer season is for enhanced probabilities for above-normal rainfall through the bulk of the central and eastern parts of the country. With that, many places can also expect to experience below normal daytime temperatures.”

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