A cloudburst outside Bloemfontein, in the direction of the Krugersdrif Dam, caused 70mm or more of rain to fall within about an hour on Thursday.
By Alani Janeke, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
Certain fields on farms along the R64 between Bloemfontein and Dealesville in the Free State looked like mud ponds on Friday, 12 December, after about 70mm – and in some places possibly more – of rain fell on Thursday afternoon, 11 December.
Clinton Bukes, a pilot with Bassair Aviation, said some farmers had informed him they had heavy rainfall and on Friday morning he decided to fly along the tar road to record the water levels. He took off and landed at Tempe Airport in the city. “I was probably not even 5km out of town when the large masses of water already began lying beneath me.”
Also read: Parts of the Free State last experienced this much rain in 1934
Bukes said he turned around before reaching the Krugersdrif Dam, but the area was wet all the way there. Bassair usually coordinates wildlife counts and captures from the air, but on Friday morning they also measured the rainfall for some time. No additional rain fell on top of the already wet conditions on Friday afternoon.
Bukes sent Landbouweekblad, our sister publication, this video of his flight:
Gernie Botha, CEO of Free State Agriculture, said Bloemfontein is experiencing a good summer rainfall season so far, although the rain falls in patches across parts of the district, meaning some farmers record more rainfall than others.
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