Sunday scorcher for Sizzle City

SUNSCREEN, hats and plenty of drinking water will be the order of the day on Sunday in the City of uMhlathuze as temperatures are expected to soar to 36° Celsius.

The real feel, however, will be 41° for Richards Bay as the maximum UV index is set to reach 11 – ‘very unhealthy’, according to Accuweather.

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Conditions will be hot and humid, with more sun than clouds.

Empangeni will also reach a high of 36° on Sunday and, despite an 83% chance of rain, the real feel will also reach 41° and UV index 11.

eShowe will reach a more manageable 32°, while elsewhere in the Zululand region Mtubatuba will rise to highs of 31°, Hluhluwe 35° and Pongola 34°.

Monday will bring some relief, with temperatures dipping and potential thunderstorms.

Long-range forecast
According to the SA Weather Service (SAWS) Seasonal Climate Watch for February to June, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (Enso) has recently crossed the La Niña threshold and is predicted to remain on the boundary of this threshold for the next few months.

For South Africa, however, time is running out for a potential La Niña event to affect the country as summer is entering its final stages.

“Current predictions indicate above-normal rainfall for most of the north-eastern parts of the country during the full forecast period,” said the report.

“This is in stark contrast to previous predictions and is most likely due to the sudden decrease in temperatures in equatorial pacific oceans, prompting a sharp increase in probability in getting above-normal rainfall.”

“Minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be mostly above-normal countrywide for the forecast period.”

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