The South African Weather Service recorded 54 weather records in the icy wet and snowy weather this week.
On Monday, there were 34 new temperature records and on Tuesday another 20. Almost all were for the lowest maximum and minimum daily temperatures in towns across the country.
The lowest minimum temperature recorded was -6 degrees Celsius in Welkom, while the lowest maximum temperature was a miserable 1,7 degrees in Barkly East, both on Monday night.
At least 17 people were reported dead from exposure or in fires trying to keep warm in the icy wet weather gripping the country. In Nancefield in Soweto, two babies died when the shack they were in caught fire, apparently due to illegal electrical connections.
In the Eastern Cape, rescuers using helicopters were trying late on Tuesday afternoon to get to two telephone technicians who were trapped in the Katberg mountains. Their colleagues tried to help them and also got stuck.
”Now we’re sitting with six people there, not two,” said Captain John Fobian.
A busload of passengers were on their way to the Western Cape on Tuesday afternoon after spending a chilly night in a bus trapped in the snowbound Lootsberg pass between Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg.
Police Captain Erris Claassen said the 45 passengers were on board a City to City bus that got stuck on Monday night when the driver tried to get through the Lootsberg pass on the N9 despite it being closed due to snow. By Tuesday afternoon, 10 of 12 trucks stuck in the pass had been removed and were on their way.
None of this week’s records reached the lowest temperature recorded yet in the country: -18,6 degrees at Buffelsfontein in the Eastern Cape mountains on June 28 1996.
Other towns that also recorded their lowest minimum temperatures this week included: Carolina (-5,5), Vanwyksvlei (-4,3), Ventersdorp (-3,9), Witbank (-3,7), Gariep Dam (-3,7), Pofadder (-3,5), Upington (-3,1), Marken (-2,9), Taung (-2,5), Oudestad (-1,7) and Nieuwoudtville (-0,1).
Kuruman, Kathu and Gariep Dam all recorded their lowest maximum temperatures on Monday and lowest minimums on Tuesday. Kuruman went from a high of 9,2 degrees to a low of -5,1 degrees, Kathu from 10,1 degrees to -5,1 degrees, and Gariep from 6,9 degrees to -3,7 degrees.
Wet weather
Plettenberg Bay and Tsitsikamma both recorded their highest daily rainfall, at 68mm and 71,2mm respectively, on Monday.
Plettenberg Bay also recorded its lowest minimum temperature on Tuesday at 5,6 degrees, and Tsitsikamma had its lowest maximum temperature on Monday (12,1) and its lowest minimum on Tuesday (6,3).
In the Eastern Cape, snow was reported on all high-lying areas and some of the low-lying areas as well, said Weather SA’s regional manager for the province, Hugh van Niekerk.
He said the Lootsberg pass on the N9 between Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg and the Penhoek pass on the N6 between Queenstown and Aliwal North were both closed due to heavy snowfalls.
He said there had been snow in ”just about the whole Eastern Cape” except the coastal region — on the Bamboesberge, at Joubertina, on the Tsitsikamma and Kouga mountains, at Hogsback, on the Outeniquas and Winterberg mountains, in the Barkly East and Molteno area, at Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg.
”There’ll still be a few snowfalls overnight tonight. It should start improving tomorrow [Wednesday],” said Van Niekerk.
Looking ahead
On Tuesday, Weather SA warned that ”very cold and windy conditions are expected over the interior of the Northern and Western Cape provinces, the Eastern Cape, Free State, North West province, western high grounds of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga highveld.
”Snowfalls are expected on the high ground areas of the Eastern Cape and eastern high grounds of the Western Cape. Very rough seas with waves in excess of 5m are expected between Port Elizabeth and Richard’s Bay.
”Widespread frost is expected over the Northern Cape, North West province, Free State, Mpumalanga highveld and Gauteng.”
Weather SA said ”very cold” conditions will continue on Wednesday over high ground areas and the interior. By Thursday, a slight warming of two to four degrees Celsius is expected, but it will still be cold.
Showers are expected along the coast of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, light showers are expected along the Eastern Cape coast and the rest of the country should be dry. On Saturday, gale-force winds are predicted along the coast. — Sapa