Winter in the northern parts of the country has been very mild, but winter woollies could come in handy from next week, the South African Weather Service said on Thursday.
Forecaster Evert Scholtz said average temperatures north of Bloemfontein have been about five degrees Celsius higher for June than normally.
This was caused by a high-pressure system in the upper air that had been hanging around for a couple of weeks, leading to a down-flow of warm air.
”The high-pressure system in the upper air is causing a subsidence, which means warming at the surface,” Scholtz said.
Cold fronts have up to now only affected the southern and central parts of the country, where temperatures were more normal for June.
”The fronts are being pushed away south-eastwards towards Marion Island.”
For Pretoria, the average maximum temperature for June is 20,2 degrees Celsius and the average minimum is 2,9 degrees. This year, the maximum has been between 23 and 25 degrees and the minimum ”nearer to 10”.
However, he said things could change from Monday.
An expected cold spell could push the temperatures down to levels more normal for winter.
Scholtz said the late winter should not have a significant effect on the next agricultural season of ploughing and planting. It could cause another late rainy season, though.
But, he said, the past two rainy seasons had been late anyway, so it might not have much of an effect. — Sapa