Perhaps the best word to describe the rainfall forecast for South Africa this weekend is ‘biblical’. The heavens are set to open on Friday, and after a dreary Saturday, the worst of the downpours will eventually make landfall. In fact, the expected deluge has forced the SA Weather Service to crank up its weather warnings.
‘Almighty rainfall’ heading for SA provinces
The latest forecast is bad news for Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Free State, Mpumalanga and KZN, as their Level 4 weather warnings remain in place. But it appears that North West will bear the brunt of the extreme conditions – and they have now been bumped up to a LEVEL 5 caution instead.
Thunderstorms, flash floods, and rainfall exceeding 200mm over the course of the weekend has been predicted by several weather experts – with AfricaWeather labelling the showers as ‘intense’
“On Sunday, the system precipitates moderate to intense rainfall across the central regions – thunderstorms are confined to the North West, and the province is facing a medium chance of flash floods over the weekend.”
AfricaWeather
Weather warnings for South Africa, issued Friday 8 April
The likes of Sun City, Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp, Mahikeng, and Lichtenburg have all been designated the dreaded Level 5 weather warning, with eastern and central parts of North West braced for a lashing.
The coastline between East London and Port Shepstone, most of Free State, and western parts of North West have got the yellow Level 4 warning in place. Residents in KZN and Gauteng have also been asked to keep their guard up, and according to SAWS, the danger is still ever-present.
“The provinces expected to be particularly affected include the eastern parts of the Northern and Eastern Cape, Free State, North-West, Gauteng as well as KwaZulu-Natal and the Highveld region of Mpumalanga.”
“Localised flooding is likely to affect the agricultural sector, infrastructure and settlements over the North-West, the northern parts of the Free State and Gauteng on Friday. Occurrences of localised flooding are expected to persist right through until Sunday.”
SAWS statement