By Alani Janeke and Vida Booysen
Six years after mid-November snow surprised farmers in the eastern parts of South Africa, snow is falling again today over parts of the Free State and Mpumalanga.
On 16 November 2017, Jan Scheepers, a farmer from the Bethlehem district, sent photos of snow on his young maize. This snow began falling during the night of November 15. This morning, six years later, he woke up to snow again.
Jan says he is not so concerned about the impact of the snow on young maize that has just emerged. “In 2017, we saw that the young maize was okay with this kind of cold. What I’m worried about now is the wheat. If the wind dies down and we get more cold and it freezes, we will suffer because the wheat is in the ear.”
Jan says a lot of snow fell in the Kransfontein, Aberfeldy, Kestell and Memel areas. Snowfall is also being reported on social media in Harrismith, Warden and Wakkerstroom.
Danger to maize leaves
Herkie Viljoen, a farmer from the Bethlehem district, says the damage to young maize is not expected to be too great, especially if temperatures warm up later in the week. The risk for maize will increase if the cold weather persists longer, with leaves potentially becoming pressed due to a chemical reaction to the cold.
According to a South African Weather Service warning on Friday 27 October, the cold air, combined with high levels of moisture over the country, could lead to disruptive snowfall on the Drakensberg, Van Reenen Pass and the N3 in KwaZulu-Natal.
Lighter snowfall is predicted over the high peaks of adjacent provinces such as the Eastern Cape and the far eastern Free State. There is a small but notable possibility of snow on the Roossenekal Pass and near Belfast and Dullstroom on the Mpumalanga plateau.
A sharp drop in maximum temperatures, in particular, was predicted for the beginning of the week, particularly over the eastern provinces, including Gauteng. Most of the Lowveld can expect temperatures in the low teens on Monday and Tuesday, with Johannesburg’s maximum temperature potentially reaching 11°C to 12°C. Some high-altitude areas may even experience single-digit temperatures as maximums.
The weather conditions are caused by a combination of two systems. The first is a strong high-pressure system south of the country, pushing cold, moist air over the southern and eastern coastal areas and adjacent inland. Additionally, a cut-off low-pressure system is developing over the eastern provinces.
Another factor that could cause the likelihood of heavier rainfall is the tropical nature of this air mass. Tropical air masses often lead to heavy rainfall.
