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Get your blankets out: Freezing temperatures to hit Gauteng
According to Gauteng Weather, the mercury will drop to 1°C in Johannesburg, 3°C in Pretoria & 0°C in Vereeniging
Picture: iStock
It’s time to get those blankets out as a cold front makes it way to Gauteng.
Gauteng Weather warned residents to brace for freezing temperatures across parts of the province from Sunday evening.
According to a tweet the mercury is expected to drop significantly overnight.
“Alert: freezing over parts of Southern Gauteng overnight due to cold front.”
The temperatures tweeted by Gauteng Weather include:
- Johannesburg at 1°C
- Pretoria 3°C
- Vereeniging 0°C
ALSO READ: Get your blankets out: Intense cold front to hit Gauteng
On Friday, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued a yellow level 2 warning for damaging waves and wind between Saldanha Bay and Plettenberg Bay from Saturday afternoon until Sunday evening.
According to the weather service, this will lead to localised damage to coastal infrastructure and difficulty in navigation at sea.
The icy conditions have also gripped the high-lying areas in the Cape which have experienced snow.
Pictures on social media show snow falls in the Matroosberg Private Nature Reserve in the Western Cape.
A video of the snow coming down heavily was posted on Twitter by Storm Report SA.
Load Shedding
The freezing conditions are likely to exacerbate the pressure the electricity grid as people use heating devices to keep warm.
On Wednesday, Eskom warned it may implement stage 2 load shedding at short notice.
The dark lords of Megawatt Park cited a shortage of generation capacity, owing to a breakdown of several power stations.
Joburg emergency services on high alert
Meanwhile, the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services told The Citizen it will be on standby as the cold front is expected to hit various cities in Gauteng.
Spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said Joburg EMS is concerned about the significant drop in temperatures.
“We remain on high alert, we just want to urge all our residents out there to continue to look after all heating devices as they try to warm themselves and make sure they don’t leave them unattended so that we can be able to prevent fire incidents,” Mulaudzi said.
ALSO READ: Level 2 warning: Damaging winds, cold front and wet conditions expected in parts of SA
