The South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued warnings of flooding, disruptive rain, snowfall and black ice after a cold front engulfed parts of the country on Monday, 31 May.
Snowfall was predicted to fall from Monday evening right up until Thursday – and the affected areas include the Lesotho mountains, as well as parts of the Drakensberg mountain range.
The following warnings were issued by SAWS for 1 June 2021.
1. Yellow level 2 warning for disruptive rain leading to localised flooding of susceptible formal/informal settlements or roads and minor vehicle accidents due to bad driving conditions is expected over the north-eastern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
2. Orange level 5 warning for disruptive rain is expected in places along the Wild Coast and adjacent interior resulting in flooding of roads and settlements as well as traffic disruptions.
3. Orange level 5 warning for snow is expected over in places over the southern Drakensberg mountains resulting in loss of livestock, traffic disruptions, and major passes closed.
4. Yellow level 1 warning for disruptive snow is expected along with the eastern parts of the Lesotho border in the Free State. Wet roads of snow melting can freeze again resulting in black ice Wednesday morning, on major and minor roads in the area, including the Van Reenen’S pass. The R712 (Golden Gate) may be closed if snowfalls exceed 1cm.Source: South African Weather Service
With regards to snowfalls – it is expected to be a big snow event with over 30cm predicted.
Places where you expect to see some snow according to Storm Report:
1. Eastern Cape
Lady Grey
Barkly East
Ugie
Maclear
Khowa (Elliot)
Rhodes
Tiffindell
Mount Fletcher
2. KwaZulu-Natal
Kokstad
Bushmans Nek
Underberg
Nottingham Road
Cathedral Peak Hotel
Champagne Castle
3. Free State
Clarens
Fouriesburg
Harrismith
Warden
Memel
Reitz
4. Lesotho
Most of the central en especially the eastern parts.
Temperatures will drop to below freezing in many parts affected by snow – and warmer weather is only expected for the weekend.
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