Authorities have appealed to motorists to reduce their speed on the N3, with an N3Alert regarding high winds on Van Reenen’s Pass reporting wind speeds of over 70km/h.

A tree was blown over into the motorway, blocking northbound traffic this morning (July 7), until it was cleared by authorities – including breakdown services (Dave’s Towing) – who rushed a chainsaw to the scene.

They eventually towed the tree clear of the road.

The SA Weather Service has also issued a fire alert.

Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the Free State, eastern parts of the Northern Cape, western parts of the North West Province, Eastern Cape, south western parts of KwaZulu–Natal and Gauteng.