By Alani Janeke
Light snow may fall over Lesotho and the northern parts of the Eastern Cape from today, while widespread snow is possible over the high-altitude parts of the southern part of the country, as well as in Lesotho, from Sunday.
The amount of snow that may fall from Sunday to Tuesday will only become clear later in the week, but there is a possibility of heavier precipitation in places, says Johan van den Berg, independent agricultural meteorologist. Cold fronts will move in across the country around Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, while more cold fronts are possible around 10 and 15 July.
“The heaviest precipitation is particularly possible from 4 to 7 July and could cause flooding conditions, especially over the Winelands district.”
Between 30mm and 50mm could fall over the Swartland and southern parts of the West Coast between 4 and 7 July, with between 20mm and 30mm possible in the Overberg. Less than 20mm is expected over the Southern Cape coast and adjacent areas, as well as in the southern parts of the Garden Route and the northern parts of the West Coast. Rain of around 10mm or less may occur in the southern parts of the Eastern Cape.
Rain in summer rain region
Light rain of less than 10mm may occur around Thursday and Friday over the central and eastern parts of the summer rain region.
“Very little rain is expected over the northern parts of the country, with only light precipitation of less than 5mm over the western parts of the country, such as Upington.
“Any rain that occurs now is not necessarily good news for summer grain producers, because large areas still cannot be harvested. The fields are still very wet and even 10mm could cause the harvesting process to be postponed for days or even a week or two. Very little evaporation is currently taking place due to the cold conditions and very little wind.”
Cold conditions
Van den Berg says temperatures in the interior are recovering, but they will drop sharply again from Thursday due to the cold front that will occur from then on.
“The maximum temperatures could drop by 5°C to 10°C over the central to southern interior, but it does not seem like this will have an impact over the northern interior. The minimum temperatures will also drop sharply from 4 to 11 July with the mercury dropping below -3°C and even below -5°C in the Free State, Eastern Cape, the southern parts of the Northern Cape and the southwestern part of Mpumalanga.
“For the rest of July, low minimum temperatures and frost may occur widely due to the cold conditions.”
