By: Kaya 959 News
Residents are urged to brace for cooler weather with two winter systems blowing into the country from Thursday into the weekend. Gautengers can expect colder temperatures from Friday.
The SA Weather Services said an intense cold front will make landfall in the Western Cape early Thursday morning, spreading to the Eastern Cape during the afternoon as well as parts of KwaZulu-Natal in the evening.
Rainy and very cold conditions with snow on the high-lying areas will set in over the Western Cape, progressing eastwards during the day.
A second system will develop during Friday over the western interior of the country, causing wintery conditions to persist over the southern parts of the country.
READ: Cold, wet weather to grip South Africa this weekend
The system is expected to deliver rainfall over the central interior of the country, a relatively uncommon occurrence for this time of year.
Snowfall is expected over the eastern high-lying areas of the Western Cape, spreading to the high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape from the afternoon into the evening, persisting into Friday where some areas could experience traffic disruptions to some roads and mountain passes. Furthermore, snowfall is also expected to spread to the Drakensberg regions of KwaZulu-Natal from Thursday night onwards.
The good news is that weather conditions will generally start to improve over the Western Cape during Friday, while cold conditions can be expected to arrive over parts of Mpumalanga and southern Gauteng on this day.
The N3 Toll Concession has issued a warning of high winds along parts of the highway between Thursday and Sunday.
N3TC operations manager, Thania Dhoogra, said the inclement weather may affect road conditions and the flow of traffic, causing congestion and delays, and the possible closure of sections of the N3 Toll Route.
“Our road incident management system (RIMS) including emergency medical services, law enforcement, the road traffic inspectorate, local authorities and route patrol services, have already been mobilised and are ready to provide support where required,” she said.
Transport and logistics operators, particularly those with livestock and perishable loads, should be aware of the expected inclement weather and possibility of traffic disruptions which may result, and are advised to plan accordingly.
She appealed to motorists and the general public to avoid the regions where snowfall may occur and, if possible, to rather delay their trips.
