The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued multiple warnings, including disruptive rain, strong winds, rough seas and snow, as adverse weather continues to batter most parts of the country.
Limpopo, meanwhile, can expect cloudy and cool to warm conditions with isolated morning showers.
Impact-based warnings
Orange Level 8 warning: Disruptive rain resulting in widespread flooding of settlements/property, roads and danger to life, with some communities temporarily cut off, as well as severe and widespread impact to transport routes and travel services over the Koukamma and Kouga local municipalities of the Eastern Cape, as well as the Garden Route of the Western Cape, on Wednesday into Thursday.
Orange Level 6 warning: Disruptive rain leading to flooding of roads and settlements can be expected over the Central Karoo, Kannaland and Hessequa municipalities of the Western Cape, as well as in Nelson Mandela Bay metro, Buffalo City metro, Dr Beyers Naude, Blue Crane Route, Ndlambe, Ngquuswa, Great Kei, Mnquma, Mbhashe, King Sabatha Dalindyebo, Nyandeni, Port St Johns, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and Mbizana municipalities of the Eastern Cape.
WHAT IS AN IMPACT-BASED WEATHER WARNING?
How often do you come across news reports suggesting that the South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued an Impact-Based Weather Warning of a certain level and a particular colour-coding? What does it mean?
— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) May 5, 2026
Orange Level 6 warning: Severe thunderstorms associated with heavy downpours resulting in flooding of roads, settlements, as well as large amounts of small hail over a populated area are expected over the eastern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
Yellow Level 4 warning: Severe thunderstorms accompanied by strong damaging winds, hail and heavy downpours resulting in flooding of roads and settlements, as well as damage to infrastructure, are expected over the western and interior of KwaZulu-Natal.
Yellow Level 2 warning: Severe thunderstorms accompanied by heavy downpours, strong damaging winds resulting in localised flooding of roads and settlements over Mpumalanga, central and south-eastern parts of the Eastern Cape and central parts of the Western Cape.
Orange Level 5 warning: Disruptive snowfall leading to pass closures, communities temporarily cut off and icy and slippery roads are expected over the northern parts of the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, as well as the southern parts of the Northern Cape.
Yellow Level 2 warning: Damaging interior winds leading to damage to settlements (formal and informal) as well as disruptions to road and rail transport, can be expected over the southern parts of the Northern Cape and the extreme north-eastern parts of the Western Cape as well as the central interior of KwaZulu-Natal.
Orange Level 6 warning: Damaging winds and waves leading to damage to coastal infrastructure, disruption of harbours, medium/large vessels dragging anchor/breaking mooring lines and disruptions to beachfront activities are expected along the coast between Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape and Cannon Rocks in the Eastern Cape.
Yellow Level 4 warning: Damaging winds and waves resulting in disruption of small harbours and ports, can be expected between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape on Wednesday and Thursday.
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. Level 8 indicates a low likelihood of weather-based impacts occuring but severe impact.
Advisories
An intense cut-off low is expected to affect the western and the central parts of the country from Tuesday to Thursday.
The public and all small stock farmers are advised that the combination of snow, gale force winds, heavy rain, flooding, very cold conditions and very rough seas can be expected over the Eastern Cape, southern parts of Northern Cape, as well as the central and north-eastern parts of the Western Cape.
According to the weather service, a cut-off low is a slow-moving or stationary weather system that can cause prolonged severe weather in one area.
The weather in your province
Gauteng: Partly cloudy and cool with isolated showers and thundershowers, but scattered over the extreme eastern parts.
Pretoria: 11°C — 16°C
Johannesburg: 8°C — 14°C
Vereeniging: 7°C — 14°C
Mpumalanga: Partly cloudy and cold to cool with scattered morning showers and thundershowers, but warm in the Lowveld.
Mbombela: 16°C — 25°C
Ermelo: 9°C — 16°C
Emalahleni: 10°C — 17°C
Standerton: 9°C — 15°C
Skukuza: 21°C — 30°C
Limpopo: Partly cloudy and cool to warm with isolated to scattered morning showers and thundershowers.
Polokwane: 12°C — 19°C
Phalaborwa: 19°C — 27°C
Tzaneen: 14°C — 25°C
Musina: 21°C — 26°C
Lephalale: 14°C — 23°C
Mokopane: 12°C — 20°C
North West: Partly cloudy to cloudy, windy and cold, with isolated showers and thundershowers, except over the north-western parts.
Klerksdorp: 5°C — 14°C
Potchefstroom: 6°C — 13°C
Mahikeng: 3°C — 14°C
Rustenburg: 8°C — 18°C
Vryburg: 1°C — 12°C
Free State: Cloudy, windy and very cold to cold, with isolated showers and thundershowers, but scattered along the Lesotho border and the eastern parts.
Bloemfontein: 3°C — 10°C
Welkom: 4°C — 12°C
Bethlehem: 4°C — 10°C
Northern Cape: Cloudy, windy and very cold to cold, with isolated showers and thundershowers except over northern parts but scattered in the south, where it will be very cold with snowfalls over the southern high-ground.
The wind along the coast will be moderate southerly to south-easterly, becoming moderate south-westerly in the afternoon.
Upington: 4°C — 14°C
Kimberley: 3°C — 10°C
De Aar: 1°C — 8°C
Alexander Bay: 14°C — 21°C
Springbok: 6°C — 13°C
Calvinia: 5°C — 12°C
Sutherland: 4°C — 7°C
READ | At least 120 Western Cape schools to close following severe weather warnings
Western Cape: Morning fog patches over the western parts, otherwise cloudy and cool to cold with isolated showers and rain, but scattered to widespread over the central and eastern parts, where it will be windy.
Snowfalls can be expected over the north-eastern high-ground, where it will be very cold.
Wind along the coast: Moderate to fresh southerly to south-easterly but strong to gale force in places along the south coast.
Cape Town: 12°C — 19°C
Vredendal: 10°C — 19°C
Riversdale: 11°C — 15°C
George: 12°C — 16°C
Worcester: 8°C — 17°C
Beaufort West: 9°C — 11°C
Oudtshoorn: 10°C — 14°C
Eastern Cape: Cloudy, windy and cold with widespread showers and thundershowers, but generally along the coast and adjacent interior. It will be very cold with snowfall over the northern high ground.
The wind along the coast will be strong to gale force south-easterly early morning and from late afternoon in the west, otherwise fresh to strong north-westerly, becoming south-westerly from late morning in the east.
Gqeberha: 14°C — 17°C
Makhanda: 11°C — 16°C
Cradock: 6°C — 9°C
Graaff-Reinet: 6°C — 12°C
KuGompo City (East London): 15°C — 19°C
Port St Johns: 17°C — 25°C
Mthatha: 11°C — 20°C
Komani: 6°C — 11°C
Qonce: 11°C — 17°C
KwaZulu-Natal: Cloudy with scattered showers and thundershowers in the morning, otherwise partly cloudy and cold to cool.
The wind along the coast will be moderate westerly to north-westerly in the morning, otherwise moderate to fresh northerly to north-easterly. It will become moderate to fresh southerly to south-westerly south of Durban in the evening.
Durban: 18°C — 26°C
Richards Bay: 19°C — 26°C
Pietermaritzburg: 10°C — 22°C
Ladysmith: 10°C — 18°C
*This weather report was written with the support of Toqan AI.
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