Weather outlook: 16 February – 22 February

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has advised that on Monday the country will experience partly cloudy, warm-to-hot conditions over the western interior, with isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers possible from the afternoon.

“There is a yellow level 2 warning of severe thunderstorms over the central and southern parts of the Northern Cape for today, expected to result in a high likelihood of minor impacts of damaging winds, hail, and heavy downpours that may lead to localised floods, with the likelihood expected to decrease to medium by Tuesday afternoon,” SAWS Meteorologist Lehlohonolo Thobela said.

Possible flooding due to heavy downpours:

• Monday: low chance (40%) – Northern Cape (central and western parts).
• Tuesday: low to medium chance (40%) – Northern Cape (central and southern parts).
• Wednesday: Low to medium chance (40% – 60%) – Northern Cape (western parts), Eastern Cape (eastern half), and southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
• Thursday: Low chance (40%) – KwaZulu-Natal and Highveld of Mpumalanga.
• Friday: Low chance (40%) – Northern Cape.
• Saturday: Low to medium chance (40% – 60%): Free State, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and the southern parts of North West.
• Sunday: Low chance (40%) – Northern Cape, eastern parts of Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Free State.

Possible severe thunderstorms:

• Monday: low chance (40%) – Northern Cape (central and western parts).
• Tuesday: low to medium chance (40% – 60%) – Northern Cape (central and southern parts).
• Wednesday: Low to medium chance (40% – 60%) – Northern Cape (western parts), Eastern Cape (eastern half), and the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
• Thursday: Low chance (40%) – KwaZulu-Natal and the Highveld of Mpumalanga.
• Friday: Low chance (40%) – Northern Cape.
• Saturday: Low to medium chance (40% – 60%) – Free State, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and the southern parts of North West.
• Sunday: Low chance (40%) – Northern Cape, eastern parts of Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Free State.

Winds (not associated with thunderstorms):

• Monday: Low to medium chance (40% – 60%) – east and south coast of South Africa.
• Tuesday: Low to medium chance (40% – 60%) – east coast of South Africa.
• Wednesday: Low chance (40%) – south-west coast and east coast in the evening.
• Thursday: Low chance (40%) – West Coast of South Africa and southern parts of the Northern Cape.
• Friday: Low to medium chance (40% – 60%)- south coast of South Africa.
• Saturday: Low chance – south coast of South Africa.
• Sunday: Low to medium chance (40% – 60%) – east coast of South Africa and the interior of the Eastern Cape province.

“Members of the public and stakeholders are strongly urged to continuously monitor official SAWS forecasts and warnings, as warnings will be updated as the likelihood and severity of impacts become clearer. 

“The public is also advised to remain cautious of unauthorised or unverified information sources and refrain from distributing such information further,” Thobela said. –SAnews.gov.za