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The Port Elizabeth branch of the SA Weather Service recorded the coldest night of the year so far at the PE airport on Thursday morning at 3.1 degrees Celsius just before sunrise.
The coldest place in the Eastern Cape was Buffelsfontein at -9.6 C. A number of other sub-zero temperatures were recorded inland with Jamestown at -3.6, Somerset East at -3.3, Elliot at -2.9, Graaf Reinet at -2.5 and Queenstown at -1.8 degrees. Cradock dropped to just under freezing at -0.3C
It was a chilly 1.4 C at Uitenhage, 4.2 C at George and a fresh 7.9 C in East London. Garth Sampson at the PE weather office says the icy conditions can be attributed to the clear night time skies being experienced at the moment.
"When we have cloudy conditions it acts like a blanket and radiation does not pour out of the ground as quickly," said Sampson. "At present, we've got cloudless conditions so out-going radiation is at its maximum and the earth cools very rapidly overnight. That is why it we had these very cold conditions across the Eastern Cape on Thursday morning."
Sampson told AlgoaFM News that it would be warming up a bit on Friday but that it would be cool at around 17 C by the time the SA/Ireland Test kicks off at 5pm on Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
"The prognosis for the rugby is take jerseys and jackets along because the maximum temperature is going to be no higher than 17 degrees and obviously as night sets in the temperatures are going to drop rapidly. There will also be a fairly brisk south westerly wind which will cool things down even further. Good news in terms of a rugby spectacle is that its going to be a dry Test match as there will not be a cloud in the sky on Saturday evening."
