Johannesburg’s first real snowfall in more than 20 years and the freezing temperatures that accompanied it claimed at least one life on Wednesday morning.
A homeless man was found dead in the city centre, emergency services spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said. ”He was found in Noord Street, near the taxi rank. He died of exposure.”
The last time the city had ”good snow” was in September 1981.
”There’ve been a few minor incidents since then in the 1990s. In 1996 we had a little bit of sleet, but it was none of the big, thick stuff,” Midgley said.
A climatologist with the South African Weather Service, Tracey Gill, said the September 10 1981 snow lay more than 10cm deep in places, close to the depth of snow that fell in the southern suburbs of Johannesburg on Wednesday.
”In August last year, Mother Nature teased the residents of Gauteng with a promise of snow and even dispensed a few tantalising snowflakes, but nothing substantial enough to be termed a proper snowfall.”
There were also reports of light snow in Waverley in Pretoria, said Gill. The last time there were widespread snowfalls in Pretoria was on June 11 1968.
Many residents of Gauteng woke up on Wednesday to a layer of snow turning lawns, rooftops and cars white, while the South African Weather Service predicted a freezing day with temperatures staying below eight degrees Celsius in Johannesburg.
Some Johannesburg residents phoned radio stations and told of waking up their children at 1am to play in the snow outside. Snow was reported on the East Rand, in Roodepoort and in Pretoria, while rooftops in Rosebank sparkled with a white layer early on Wednesday morning.
The cold snap also caused more power failures, with Bedfordview residents experiencing their third power failure in a matter of days.
Flights departing from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg were delayed for up to three hours on Wednesday morning due to layers of ice covering the aircraft, the Airports Company South Africa said.
Airport emergency services had to use fire trucks to hose down grounded aeroplanes covered with layers of ice and snow, spokesperson Tasniem Patel said.
”This was done to expedite the melting process because when ice forms on an aircraft it affects the lift — the ability of the aircraft to take off and fly normally,” added Mango airline spokesperson Hein Kaiser.
Pretoria was the northern-most point of the snowfall, South African Weather Service forecaster Siyabonga Mthetwa told the Mail & Guardian Online on Wednesday morning.
Roads closed
Motorists were warned to avoid all passes in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday due to snowfalls, the South African Weather Service said.
”Apparently there are hundreds of people stuck in the passes at present,” said spokesperson Garth Sampson. ”We sent warnings out yesterday [Tuesday],” he lamented.
Roads in and around Hogsback were impassable. Snow was reported to be lying up to 20cm deep there. The following passes were reported closed on radio station Algoa FM’s morning show: Penhoek, Lootsberg, Boesmanshoek Pass between Molteno and Sterkstroom, Kraai River, Barkly, Wapads Berg and Nico Malan passes.
A number of Eastern Cape roads were closed to motorists, the provincial transport department said. Spokesperson Tshepo Machea said the roads included the N9 between Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg, the R61 between Cradock and Graaff-Reinet and the N6 between Jamestown and Queenstown.
The Nico Malan Pass on the R67 between Seymour and Fort Beaufort, and the R58 between Lady Grey and Elliot were also closed.
Machea said drivers should use the N2 between Mount Ayliff and Kokstad with caution as it was still snowing in the area with only one lane in use.
Several roads in KwaZulu-Natal also had to be closed to traffic. Roads closed were the R103 from Nottingham Road to Mooi River in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, the R617 from Underberg to Kokstad, the N2 from Port Shepstone to Kokstad, and the R56 from Umzimkulu to Kokstad, traffic spokesperson Rajen Chinaboo said.
This meant Kokstad was a no-go area as all major roads leading in and out of the town were closed due to the snow.
”It is still snowing and motorists are advised to exercise caution while driving on the roads as we have had minor collisions due to the weather,” Chinaboo said.
Snowfalls were expected on the mountains of the Eastern Cape, in Lesotho, on the Drakensberg and in the eastern Free State overnight and on Wednesday morning.
Along the coast, Wednesday is expected to bring gale-force south-westerly winds between Port Alfred and Maputo, with very rough seas from Port Elizabeth to Port St Johns.
Also on Wednesday, very cold conditions are expected over the central interior, the high ground of the Western Cape, the southern and western high ground of the Northern Cape, the northern parts of the Eastern Cape, Lesotho, the Free State, southern Mpumalanga, southern Gauteng, south-western parts of North West province and the western high ground of KwaZulu-Natal.
Heavy falls of rain are possible in places along the coast and adjacent interior of KwaZulu-Natal.
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On the net
A map of snow pics submitted by readers