Weather Update: Harsh conditions across most of SA with fire, drought and cold front
Harsh conditions across most of SA
It’s going to be a dry day across most of the the country on Friday 9 June, which does not bode well for the drought-stricken Western Cape and Garden Route’s fatal fires.
In addition to this, the South African Weather Service warns that extreme high veld fire danger conditions are expected in places over the extreme northern parts of the Northern Cape, including Upington, on Friday.
Wind and no rain in Knysna
SA Weather Services spokesperson Garth Sampson says that the winds will “still be around 10 to 15 knots (20-30 km/h) by 10 pm” on Thursday 8 June night, and swings to north-westerly, becoming light overnight.
On Friday morning “it will turn north-easterly 15 knots (30km/h),” says Sampson. He confirms that “no rain is expected over the weekend”.
SEE: #KnysnaFire: Urgent call for support of victims
The Garden route and its residents are in a state of turmoil due to the raging fires since Wednesday 7 June night.
There is a nation wide plea to provide aid. The damage done to Garden Route is being labelled a disaster zone in South Africa, leaving many people homeless and shaken.
Five people have died in the fire – including a 3-year-old, and another five people have also lost their lives in the storm that has impacted both the Western and Eastern Cape.
Gale force winds and high seas on Thursday, 8 June, night
The South African Weather Service warns that gale to strong gale force south-westerly to westerly (60 to 70 km/h) are expected between Cape St Francis and Port Edward, moderating from the west on Thursday night.
High to very high seas with wave heights between 6m and 9m is expected between Lambert’s Bay and Port Edward on Thursday night.
Rain
The South African weather service forecast for Friday will see only a 30% chance of rain over the KZN coast, stretching from Durban up north to the Mozambique border.
The rest of the country will be cold and dry.
Water shortages continue
With no rain predicted for the western region of SA, the water shortage in the Western Cape continues. Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services and Energy, Cllr Xanthea Limberg says “we need continuous rainfall over many weeks for our dam levels to reach sufficient levels.”
“It will at least take three consecutive winters of above-average rainfall to make a real difference,” says the City of Cape Town.
SEE: Cape Town Water Crisis: It will at least take three rainfalls to make a real difference
Limberg confirmed the City of Cape Town is investigating a range of emergency solutions, including the rental of desalination units, that could altogether yield a supply of up to 500 million litres per day. See the full story here.
SEE: Cape Town Water Crisis: Surrounded by two oceans, is desalination the solution?
The water crisis remains dire for the Western Cape as dam levels fall further, and the City of Cape Town on 31 May approved Level 4 water restrictions, which came into effect from 1 June. This limits residents to 100 litres of water per person, per day. Read News24’s full report here.
A state of disaster has been declared in Kouga (Eastern Cape) as the drought continues across the region, and Knysna Municipality also requested assistance with water for the fires on Thursday saying “We need water as the water pumps went down.”
Snow in the high-lying regions, and black frost in Gauteng
Snow fell in the mountainous regions of the Northern Cape and Cape Winelands from Thursday morning.
SEE: PICS: Snow in SA’s western mountains as fires rage in Knysna
Snow Report SA says “we are expecting all snow falls to cease” in the Northern Cape and Cape Winelands by Thursday evening.
Southern parts of Gauteng is expected to be extremely cold and get frost from Thursday night into Friday. This type of frost, according to Gauteng Weather, causes “severe freezing that blackens growing plants without visible frost”.
Source: Weather24