Skip to content Skip to left sidebar Skip to footer

Severe Weather Alerts

27 December 2023 Impact Based Weather Warning: Level 3 for disruptive rain from 30 December until 31 December 2023

Impact-Based Weather Warning: Level 2 for disruptive rain

The Cape Town Weather Office has issued a level 3 disruptive rain warning for Saturday, 30 December and Sunday, 31 December 2023.

Areas in the district affected by the level 3 disruptive rain warning include Hessequa, Mossel Bay, George, Knysna and Bitou.

Report weather related incidents to the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre at 044 805 5071.

20 October 2023 Media Release: Heavy rain and storms over Western and Eastern Cape this weekend – 21-22 October

Media Release: Heavy rain and storms over Western and Eastern Cape this weekend – 21-22 October

For immediate release
20 October 2023

Scarcely a week after the last bout of heavy rainfall over southern Africa, numeric weather prediction (NWP) models are suggesting yet another episode of significant rainfall, this time over the Western and Eastern Cape. This system may also produce some severe thunderstorms, with appropriate warnings already issued for Saturday (21 October).

A cut-off low-pressure system (the equatorward displacement of a low-pressure system at high altitudes) is in the process of developing over the southern Atlantic Ocean, to the south-west of the Western Cape. This fast moving system is evolving rapidly and is expected to be encroaching on the west coast of Western Cape as early as this evening (20 October).

Whilst cut-off lows are typically efficient producers of rain, often of a heavy nature, these systems also have a reputation for causing widespread severe weather such as flooding, heavy rainfall, and severe thunderstorms. Widespread showers and thundershowers can be expected over parts of the Western and Eastern Cape tomorrow (21 October), shifting eastwards on Sunday (22 October), when continuing to affect the Eastern Cape.

Figure 1  indicates the current location of the developing cut-off low, positioned to the south-west of the country. By this evening, the system will start to invade of the western extremities of the Western Cape. Notably, the system is fast-moving and will affect the majority of the Cape provinces, especially Western Cape and Eastern Cape, tomorrow.

As indicated by Figure 2 as well as Figure 3, rainfall, in the form of scattered showers and thundershowers, can be anticipated over Western Cape tomorrow, when some of the storms may become severe. Western Cape Districts expected to be affected include the Cape Winelands, Overberg, Garden Route and central Karoo. The southern extremities of Northern Cape could also be similarly affected by severe storms.

With reference to Figure 2 (A), it is significant that disruptive rainfall may occur over parts of Eastern Cape on Saturday (21 October), resulting in possible flooding as well as posing a significant risk to life and property. Numeric Weather Prediction (NWP) models suggest 100 mm or more of rainfall, within a 24-hour period, for some places. Hence, a Level 6 ORANGE Warning has been issued for parts of the Eastern Cape, as indicated in Figure 3. It is also relevant to mention that the surface terrain over many parts of the Eastern Cape is still wet and saturated, following recent episodes of good rainfall. Saturated ground has a reduced capacity for infiltration of rainfall. Fresh rainfall on saturated ground rapidly leads to overland runoff, thus exacerbating the risk of flooding, as excess rainfall is diverted to swell river systems.

The cut-off low will continue to rapidly intensify during the weekend as it migrates eastward. By Sunday, most of the thunderstorms will have cleared over the Western and Northern Cape, with the focus shifting to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, where further rainfall is expected to persist.

The South African Weather Service will continue to monitor this weather system and issue subsequent updates over the next few days. Updated impact-based warnings will be issued in due course. It is strongly advised that the public regularly follow weather forecasts on television, radio, as well as all social media platforms. Updated information in this regard will regularly be available at www.weathersa.co.za as well as on X @SAWeatherServic and Facebook @SouthAfricanWeatherservic.

Click here to download the Official Media Release.

Compiled by Kevin Rae
Edited by Elizabeth Viljoen
Approved by Tshepho Ngobeni, Senior Manager: Disaster Risk Reduction

For technical and weather enquiries:
National Forecasting Centre: Tel: 012 367 6041

Media enquiries:
Ms Hannelee Doubell: Manager, Communications; Tel: (012) 367 6104; Cell: 072 222 6305;
E-mail: hannelee.doubell@weathersa.co.za
USSD: Dial *120*7297#; Weather-ready, Climate-smart

Download our WeatherSMART APP free from the App store:
For Apple Smartphones: https://apps.apple.com/za/app/weathersmart/id1045032640
For Android Smartphones: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=za.co.afrigis.saws.droid.activity&gl=Z

ENDS

22 September 2023 Impact-Based Severe Weather Warnings – Level 6 for Damaging Waves, Severe Thunderstorms and Damaging Winds

Three severe weather alerts have been issued and are expected to impact various areas within the Garden Route district.

Warnings are all valid from Sunday, 24 September at 00:00 in the morning until 00:00 on Monday 25 September 2023.

Towns to be impacted by DAMAGING WINDS and SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS in the region include all towns – Bitou, Knysna, George, Mossel Bay, Hessequa, Kannaland, and Oudtshoorn.

All coastal towns of the Garden Route will be impacted by DAMAGING WAVES – these include Bitou, Knysna, George, Mossel Bay, and Hessequa.

  • Level 6 for Damaging Winds (high likelihood, with a significant impact)
  • Level 6 for Severe Thunderstorms (high likelihood, with a significant impact)
  • Level 6 for Damaging Waves (high likelihood, with a significant impact)

Below find copies of the Severe Weather Alerts issued by the South African Weather Service.

Legal notice:
“This warning from SA Weather Service must be communicated as received and may not be altered under any circumstance.
It must be forwarded or communicated in its entirety and no portion hereof may be replicated or copied and distributed.”

Report weather-related incidents to the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre at 044 805 5071.

14 September 2023 Impact Based Weather Warnings and Advisory: Damaging Wings, Damaging Waves & Wet and Cold Conditions

Impact Based Weather Warnings and Advisory: Damaging Wings, Damaging Waves & Wet and Cold Conditions

The Cape Town Office has issued severe weather warnings for Damaging Winds, Damaging Waves and an Advisory for Very Cold, Wet and Windy conditions valid from Friday, 15 September to Sunday, 17 September 2023.

Areas affected by the damaging waves include Bitou, George, Hessequa, Knysna and Mossel Bay.Areas affected by the damaging winds include Bitou, Knysna, George, Mossel Bay, Hessequa, Oudtshoorn and Kannaland.Oudtshoorn will be affected by the very cold, wet and windy conditions.

Report weather related incidents to the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre at 044 805 5071.

08 August 2023 Impact Based Warning: Yellow Level 1 – Damaging Waves

Impact Based Warning: Yellow Level 1 – Damaging Waves

The Cape Town Weather Office has issued a Level 1 Impact Based Warning for Damaging Waves valid from, 08 August until 10 August 2023.

Areas in the Garden Route District affected by damaging waves include Bitou, George, Hessequa, Knysna and Mossel Bay.

Report weather related incidents to the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre at: 044 805 5071.

Legal notice:
“This warning from SA Weather Service must be communicated as received and may not be altered under any circumstance.
It must be forwarded or communicated in its entirety and no portion hereof may be replicated or copied and distributed.”

30 July 2023 Impact Based Warning: Yellow Level 2 – Damaging Waves

Impact Based Warning: Yellow Level 2 – Damaging Waves

The Cape Town Weather Office has issued a Level 2 Impact Based Warning for Damaging Waves valid from, 31 July until 1 August 2023.

Areas in the Garden Route district affected by damaging waves include Bitou, George, Hessequa, Knysna and Mossel Bay.

Report weather related incidents to the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre at: 044 805 5071.

27 July 2023 Impact Based Weather Warnings (Updated)

Impact Based Weather Warnings (updated)

The Cape Town Weather Office has issued an updated Impact Based Warnings for the Western Cape and Namaqua Region of Northern Cape as follows:

1. Warning: Damaging Waves Orange (Level 5)
Areas affected: Bitou, George, Hessequa, Knysna and Mossel Bay
Valid: From 29/07/23 (00h00) to 29/07/23 (23h59)

2. Warning: Disruptive Rain Yellow (Level 4)
Areas affected: Kannaland, Oudtshoorn,
Valid: From 28/07/23 (12h00) to 29/07/23 (00h00)

3. Warning: Disruptive Snow Yellow (Level 4)
Areas affected: Kannaland and Oudtshoorn
Valid: 29/07/23 (00h00) to 30/07/23 (00h00)

4. Warning: Disruptive Rain Orange (Level 6)
Areas Affected: Bitou, George, Hessequa, Knysna and Mossel Bay
Valid: 29/07/23 (00h00) to 29/07/23 (23h59)

Issued by:

SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE
Cape Town Weather Office
2nd Floor: Oval Office Park
Cape Town Int airport
Freight Road
Matroosfontein
Cape Town

E-Mail: factfc@weathersa.co.za
Tel: 021 935 5700

Report weather-related incidents to the Garden Route Disaster Management Centre at 44 805 5071.

ENDS

27 July 2023 Media Release: A strong cold front and cut-off low expected to affect the Cape provinces this weekend, 28-30 July 2023

Media Release: A strong cold front and cut-off low expected to affect the Cape provinces
this weekend, 28-30 July 2023

For immediate release
27 July 2023

Heavy rainfall, very cold conditions, rough seas, snow, and strong to gale force winds are expected over parts of the Cape provinces this weekend as a strong cold front makes landfall on Friday evening, 28 July, along the west coast of the country. On Saturday, 29 July, a cut-off low rapidly develops over the Western Cape further exacerbating weather conditions. Although the Cape provinces will experience the brunt of these conditions, the central and eastern parts of the country will also experience cold to very cold conditions from Saturday evening into Sunday.

A strong cold front is expected to make landfall along the west coast of South Africa and Namibia during Friday evening, causing scattered to widespread showers and rain along the coast of the Northern Cape and the western parts of the Western Cape. Very rough sea conditions along the coastal areas and windy conditions over the central and western interior of the country are also anticipated.

On Saturday, a cut-off low (an extension of a deep low-pressure from the main westerly wave) develops over the Western Cape and is expected to spread to the south-western parts of the Eastern Cape during Saturday afternoon. Cut-off low pressure systems are well known for causing flooding, gale force winds and snowfall in winter. Widespread rainfall can be expected over the western and southern parts of the Northern Cape, most parts of the Western Cape, and parts of the Eastern Cape on Saturday. Heavy rainfall leading to flooding is possible over parts of the Cape Metropole, Cape Winelands, and especially the Overberg and Garden Route Districts of the Western Cape mainly on Saturday but already over the Cape Metropole from Friday evening. These conditions are expected to spread along the south coast of the Eastern Cape on Saturday afternoon.

Very rough seas (associated with strong winds), with wave heights between 4.0 and 6.0 m can be expected along the west coast from Friday night, spreading along the south coast of the Western Cape on Saturday, to the coast of the Eastern Cape on Saturday night and reaching the KwaZulu-Natal coast on Sunday. These conditions may cause disruption to beachfront activities and difficulty in navigation at sea for small to medium vessels. High seas with wave heights between 6.0 to 7.0 m can also be expected along the south coast of the Western Cape from Saturday afternoon into Sunday, spreading to the Eastern Cape coast on Sunday (see figure 2a), which can lead to possible beach erosion and put small to medium vessels at risk of taking on water or capsizing.

Snowfall is expected across interior mountain ranges of the Western Cape, the western and southern high ground of the Northern Cape and the high ground of the Eastern Cape from Saturday (see figure 2b) into Sunday and may extend into the Drakensberg region of KwaZulu-Natal and the extreme southern parts of the Free State on Sunday. Disruptive snowfall can be expected over the interior high ground of the Western Cape, the northern and central high ground of the Eastern Cape and the southern high ground of the Northern Cape on Saturday into Sunday, which may lead to loss of livestock, closure of mountain passes and result in some communities to be temporarily inaccessible.

Very cold conditions (maximum temperatures between 5°C and 10°C) are expected over the interior of the Cape provinces from Saturday into Sunday (see figure 3a and 3b), while cold conditions are expected to spread to the central and eastern parts of the country mainly on Sunday (see figure 3b).

The weather systems are expected to weaken significantly on Sunday while exiting over the south-eastern parts of the country, causing weather conditions to improve mainly from Sunday evening into Monday.

However, heavy ocean swell will continue to impact the southern and south-eastern coastline on Monday due to another cold front slipping along the southern coastal areas.

The South African Weather Service is closely monitoring this weather system and will update the public when needed. It is strongly advised that the public regularly follow weather forecasts on television, radio as well as social media platforms. Updated information in this regard will regularly be available at www.weathersa.co.za as well as via the SA Weather Service Twitter account @SAWeatherService.

Compiled by Wayne Venter
Edited by Elizabeth Viljoen
Approved by Tshepho Ngobeni

For technical and weather enquiries:
National Forecasting Centre: Tel: 012 367 6041

Media enquiries: Ms Hannelee Doubell: Manager, Communications;
Tel: (012) 367 6104; Cell: 072 222 6305; E-mail: hannelee.doubell@weathersa.co.za

ENDS

13 June 2023 Media Release: Very cold wet and windy weather to persist over the Cape provinces in the week ahead.

Media Release: Very cold wet and windy weather to persist over the Cape provinces in the week ahead.

For immediate release
13 June 2023

Very cold wet and windy weather to persist over the Cape provinces in the week ahead.

A well-developed, fast-moving cold front arrives over the Western Cape tomorrow, introducing very cold, rainy weather to all three of the Cape provinces. In addition, strong, gusty westerly winds over the interior of Western and Western Cape are expected to accompany the passage of the cold front. Given the dramatic drop in temperature, combined with persistent wet and windy conditions in the days ahead, small stock farmers are strongly encouraged to take mitigative action at an early stage to prevent stock losses due to exposure.

Moreover, the arrival of the cold frontal system tomorrow will be the first in a succession of such systems, expected to pass through the Cape provinces in the week ahead, on an almost daily basis.

Cold, windy conditions with occasional showers will therefore be a persistent feature of the weather over the southern half of the country, continuing until well after the long weekend.

The latest output from Numeric Weather Prediction (NWP) models, in particular the Unified Model (UM) (refer Figure 1 below) suggest that heavy rainfall may occur over parts of Western Cape tomorrow Wednesday 14 June, persisting on Thursday 15 June.

Typically, the presence of higher topography and especially mountainous areas tends to markedly enhance local rainfall through orographic uplift. The western, or windward, side of hills and mountains of the Western and Northern Cape can therefore expect to receive upwards of 100 mm of rainfall on Wednesday, with further significant rainfall of the order of 50 mm or more, persisting on Thursday. This NWP guidance has prompted SAWS to issue a Level 6 Orange warning for disruptive rainfall, expected to affect particularly the Cape Town CBD and Metropole as well as the Winelands area (see additional details below).

Strong, gusty winds (possibly gusting beyond gale-force) are anticipated over much of the interior of Western Cape and Eastern Cape tomorrow and Thursday. High-sided vehicles travelling along major roads and highways could be at risk of being severely buffeted by crosswinds. Drivers of such vehicles are encouraged to reduce speed and to exercise due caution in this regard.

Numerically modelled 24-hour rainfall in mm, based on the Unified Model (UM), valid for Wednesday, 14 June and Thursday, 15 June 2023 (at top left and top right respectively). Source: Meteologix.com

Strong to gale force winds are expected to occur along the Western Cape coast between Saldanha Bay and Plettenberg Bay on Wednesday and Thursday, combined with very rough sea conditions of 4,5 to 5,0m, which will lead to difficulty in navigation at sea and may cause problems for small marine vessels.

The following Impact-Based weather warnings have been issued by the South African Weather Service (SAWS):

A Yellow Level 2 Warning for disruptive rain leading to localised flooding of roads and settlements can be expected over the southern West coast, south-eastern Cape Winelands and western Overberg districts on Wednesday and Thursday (14-15/06/2023). Impacts may include difficult driving conditions and minor motor vehicle accidents due to slippery roads.

An Orange Level 6 Warning for disruptive rain leading to major disruption of traffic flow can be expected over the City of Cape Town and most parts of Cape Winelands on Wednesday and Thursday (14-15/06/2023). Impacts may include flooding of roads and settlements and damage to property and infrastructure.

Furthermore, members of the public are encouraged to regularly follow weather forecasts on television, radio as well as social media platforms. Updated information in this regard will regularly be available at www.weathersa.co.za as well as via the SA Weather Service Twitter account @SAWeatherService.

Compiled by Kevin Rae and Stella Nake (CT and PE forecaster input)
Edited by Wayne Venter

Approved by Tshepho Ngobeni, Senior Manager DRR
For technical and weather enquiries:
National Forecasting Centre: Tel: 012 367 6041

Report weather related incidents to the Garden Route District Disaster Management Centre at 044 805 5071.

ENDS

14 December 2022 Impact Based Warning – Level 6 Severe Thunderstorms

Impact Based Warning – L6 Severe Thunderstorms

Please find included the Impact Based Warning for the Western Cape and Namaqua Region of Northern Cape.

Areas impacted from Friday, 16 December until Saturday, 17 December along the Garden Route district, include:
Bitou, George, Hessequa, Kannaland, Knysna, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn.

 

The telephone line of the Garden Route Emergency Centre (044-805 5071) is still offline, including the Emergency Medical Services Ambulance Service line, 10177. The following arrangements remain in place: Report emergencies to the South African Police Service at 10111 or contact 021 937 0555. For medical emergencies dial 112 (from a cellphone), until further notice.

Legal notice:
“This warning from SA Weather Service must be communicated as received and may not be altered under any circumstance.
It must be forwarded or communicated in its entirety and no portion hereof may be replicated or copied and distributed.”

SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE
Cape Town Weather Office
2nd Floor: Oval Office Park
Cape Town Int airport
Freight Road
Matroosfontein
Cape Town

E-Mail: factfc@weathersa.co.za
Tel: 021 935 5700