Cold snap, disruptive rain to persist in KZN

Disruptive snow and rain predicted for parts of KwaZulu-Natal

48 minutes ago

Gugu Myeni 1 minute read

Heavy rains expected over Zululand region PHOTO: Richie Roberts/Unsplash

Cold and wet weather conditions are expected to persist over KZN today (Wednesday).

According to the SA Weather Service (SAWS), disruptive snow is expected in places over the Drakensberg area, which could lead to disruptions to traffic and essential services.

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Disruptive rain is also predicted to continue in other parts of the province, except in the extreme north-east.

“Very cold and wet conditions with light snowfall are expected to set in from Wednesday evening in places over Eastern Cape, southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal, southern Free State, and along the Lesotho borders with the passage of the cut-off-low weather system, clearing from the west by Thursday.

“Farmers are advised to take precautionary measures to mitigate the negative impact under such adverse weather conditions,” SAWS states.

The KZN Transport Department said it has dispatched teams to respond swiftly to snow-prone areas, including the N3, around Ladysmith, Kokstad, Underberg, Harding, Newcastle, the N11, Pietermaritzburg, and the N2, to ensure minimal impact on the road network.

“As per our standard snow-fall response plan, graders, working with Road Traffic Inspectorate teams, will remove the snow before it can accumulate to above 30cm on our road networks,” MEC Siboniso Duma said in a statement.

“Our road freight directorate will be engaging with stakeholders in the freight and logistics sector to ensure the execution of one coherent plan.

“While we understand that there should be no disruption of supply chain management, the overall movement of trucks will be carefully co-ordinated to prevent congestion on our road networks.”

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