Winter will not be exceptionally cold, it will just be normal, Weather South Africa said on Monday.
”According to our models the temperatures will be normal for this time of year,” meteorologist Selebaleng Gaebee said.
She said last winter was exceptionally warm, which may explain why people feel the current cold weather more intensely.
The only abnormal feature expected this winter will be rain over the eastern parts of the country, which is normally a summer rainfall area.
”The cold fronts we have been experiencing over the past few days are quite normal for May,” Gaebee said.
What was exceptional, however, was the wet conditions and hail experienced in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. ”It is not normal for KwaZulu-Natal to get hail this time of the year.”
After a cold weekend with snow over most of the high mountains in the Eastern Cape, the Drakensberg and Lesotho’s Maluti mountains, a second cold front is expected to hit the Western Cape on Monday night.
Minimum temperatures over the eastern parts of the country are expected to drop to below freezing with maximum temperatures staying in the high teens.
The day temperatures are expected to rise slightly from Thursday, but the nights and early mornings will remain very cold with heavy frost.
The weekend’s cold weather was not without victims. Two people apparently froze to death in the Eastern Cape, while three others died in incidents related to the cold weather in the province, the Dispatch Online reported.
In Amalinda forest near East London, a man in his 40s appeared to have died from the cold in his shack during the night.
In Mdantsane, East London, the body of a 28-year-old woman, described by police as a ”bush dweller”, was found in the street.
A man lying near her was alive but suffering from hypothermia. He was admitted to Cecilia Makiwane hospital where he is recovering. Police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi said it appeared they had been drinking and passed out in the cold.
Also in Mdantsane, Bulelani Yekani (25) died after being electrocuted by cables knocked down by falling trees during a heavy storm on Saturday night.
Another two people died on the N2 between Dutywa and Ngcobo on Saturday night when a tractor and a bakkie collided in a heavy storm. Four others were seriously injured.
The Lootsberg Pass between Middelburg and Graaff-Reinet was closed twice over the weekend due to heavy snow and the Wapadsberg Pass between Cradock and the N9 also had to be closed. — Sapa