Cold, wet and windy conditions are forecast for most parts of the Western Cape and Northern Cape.
Cold, wet and windy conditions are forecast for most parts of the Western Cape and Northern Cape, while the South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a storm surge warning for the Eastern Cape.
According to the SAWS, storm surge is experienced as a rapid rise of sea level near the portion of the eyewall associated with onshore winds, sometimes reaching a height of more than six metres and accompanied by very large wind-driven waves.
Impact-based warnings
Yellow Level 2 warning: Damaging wind and waves leading to disruption in the activities of ports and small harbours for a short period of time, and difficulty in navigation at sea is expected between Cape Columbine and Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape from Saturday evening into Monday.
Yellow Level 1 warning: Storm surge leading to localised damage to coastal infrastructure and disruptions to beachfront activities is expected between Storms River and Cannon Rocks in the Eastern Cape in the morning.
Weather forecast for today and tomorrow, 17-18 April 2026:
Partly cloudy and cool to warm with isolated to scattered showers but widespread in the south-west. It will be cold in places in the west ⚠️ Severe thunderstorms, coastal winds and waves, and storm surge#saws #SAWeather pic.twitter.com/aWdrjvENMn— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) April 17, 2026
In the SAWS’ colour-coded weather warning system, yellow indicates a moderate risk of impact that requires caution and awareness, while orange indicates that a higher-risk impact is expected, requiring increased attention and preparation.
SAWS uses the numbers to indicate the likelihood of weather-based impacts occurring. Levels 2 and 6 are high, and Level 4 is low.
Advisories
Cold, wet and windy conditions are expected over most parts of the Western Cape, as well as in places over the southern high-lying areas of the Namakwa District in the Northern Cape until Monday.
Hot and humid weather will result in extremely uncomfortable conditions along the KwaZulu-Natal coast and adjacent interior.
The weather in your province
Gauteng: Cloudy and cool with scattered showers and thundershowers. It will be warm in the extreme north.
Pretoria: 15°C — 21°C
Johannesburg: 14°C — 20°C
Vereeniging: 15°C — 20°C
Mpumalanga: Cloudy with scattered showers and thundershowers over the western Highveld, otherwise partly cloudy and cool to warm with isolated showers and thundershowers.
Mbombela: 16°C — 30°C
Ermelo: 13°C — 24°C
Emalahleni: 13°C — 22°C
Standerton: 13°C — 24°C
Skukuza: 19°C — 31°C
Limpopo: Partly cloudy and warm with isolated showers and thundershowers, but scattered over the western parts.
Polokwane: 15°C — 24°C
Phalaborwa: 20°C — 30°C
Tzaneen: 16°C — 28°C
Musina: 18°C — 26°C
Lephalale: 16°C — 27°C
Mokopane: 16°C — 26°C
North West: Cloudy and cool to warm with isolated showers and thundershowers, but scattered in the east.
Klerksdorp: 13°C — 24°C
Potchefstroom: 14°C — 23°C
Mahikeng: 15°C — 23°C
Rustenburg: 15°C — 24°C
Vryburg: 12°C — 24°C
Free State: Cloudy and cool to warm with isolated showers and thundershowers.
Bloemfontein: 10°C — 22°C
Welkom: 13°C — 23°C
Bethlehem: 11°C — 21°C
Northern Cape: Partly cloudy and cold to cool. The wind along the coast will be light northerly, becoming westerly from the afternoon.
Upington: 9°C — 21°C
Kimberley: 9°C — 22°C
De Aar: 7°C — 16°C
Alexander Bay: 14°C — 25°C
Springbok: 8°C — 16°C
Calvinia: 8°C — 15°C
Sutherland: 4°C — 10°C
The SAWS has forecast a period of cold, wet & windy weather conditions from today to Monday associated with the passage of two back-to-back cold fronts making land fall over the western parts of the country. See the poster below for more on cold fronts. #BeSafe #BeWeatherSMART pic.twitter.com/H9YyTRZHOL
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) April 17, 2026
Western Cape: Cloudy and cool with isolated to scattered showers and rain in the south-west, otherwise partly cloudy. It will become fine in the west.
The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh south-westerly in the south-west in the morning, otherwise westerly to north-westerly.
Cape Town: 13°C — 16°C
Vredendal: 9°C — 20°C
Riversdale: 13°C — 21°C
George: 13°C — 21°C
Worcester: 11°C — 17°C
Beaufort West: 12°C — 20°C
Oudtshoorn: 11°C — 20°C
Western half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy at first, otherwise fine and cool. The wind along the coast will be fresh to strong westerly at first, becoming moderate from late morning.
Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy and cool but cold in the north. The wind along the coast will be fresh south-westerly, becoming moderate from late morning.
Gqeberha: 14°C — 22°C
Makhanda: 12°C — 21°C
Cradock: 11°C — 23°C
Graaff-Reinet: 9°C — 22°C
East London: 16°C — 22°C
Port St Johns: 17°C — 24°C
Mthatha: 13°C — 24°C
Komani: 10°C — 21°C
Qonce: 13°C — 22°C
KwaZulu-Natal: Morning fog patches in the northern parts, otherwise partly cloudy and warm with isolated afternoon showers and thundershowers. It will be hot in places in the north-east.
The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh northerly to north-easterly in the north in the morning, otherwise southerly to south-westerly.
Durban: 22°C — 26°C
Richard’s Bay: 19°C — 32°C
Pietermaritzburg: 14°C — 24°C
Ladysmith: 13°C — 28°C
*This weather report was written with the support of Toqan AI.
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