Pixabay (stock image)
The SA Weather Service is warning that a week of very cold temperatures is expected across the majority of South Africa from Monday right through to the coming weekend.
The cold temperatures are a result of a cold front that moved over the eastern parts of the country on Sunday evening, sustained by the development of a cut-off low-pressure system over the south-eastern parts of South Africa.
As a result, snowfalls of between 5-15 cm can be expected over Lesotho and the southern Drakensberg mountains in the Eastern Cape.
Rainfall of a disruptive nature is forecast for the Wild Coast and northeastern KwaZulu-Natal.
The SA Weather Service is also predicting wet conditions accompanied by very cold temperatures over the high lying areas of the Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
In the Eastern Cape specifically, heavy rain is expected to result in localised flooding of roads and settlements along the Wild Coast and adjacent interior on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
Cold to very cold conditions over the northeastern high ground of the southern Drakensberg will lead to disruptive snowfalls from Tuesday morning into Wednesday morning.
This could result in major roads and mountain passes being closed as well as loss of livestock and access to some remote communities being interrupted due to snowfall or icy roads.
Small stock farmers and the public of the eastern Free State, in particular, are advised to provide shelter for their animals due to the expected wet, windy, and very cold conditions from Monday evening onwards.
The South African Weather Service says it will continue to monitor any further developments relating to this weather system and will issue subsequent updates on www.weathersa.co.za as required.
Furthermore, the public is encouraged to regularly follow weather forecasts on Algoa FM.
