Province urged to brace for another cold, wet and windy week
WESTERN Cape residents have been alerted to brace themselves for another cold, wet and windy week.
The Cape Town weather office said a cold front was expected to pass over the province tomorrow, bringing more rain over the western parts in the morning, and spreading eastwards over the interior by the evening.
Heavy downpours that could result in flooding were expected from the morning through to midday over the south-western parts of the province.
“Significant low freezing levels are expected over the interior of the Western Cape, and southern parts of the Northern Cape, on Wednesday into Thursday morning due to the passage of the cold front,” said the weather office.
Snowfall is anticipated over the mountainous areas during this period, with very cold conditions expected to persist over the Western Cape on Thursday.
A Yellow level 3 warning for snow leading to possible loss of livestock and/or crops is expected over the high areas of the province tomorrow and on Thursday.
A Yellow level 4 warning for rain leading to flooding of roads and formal and informal settlements is expected over the City, Cape Winelands and Overberg district tomorrow.
A series of cold fronts is expected to bring in very cold conditions, with daytime temperatures below 10°C over the high areas of the province from today through to Thursday.
The public and small stock farmers have been advised to take precautions.
Meanwhile, the City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre (DRMC) spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, said there were still many informal settlements across the City that remained waterlogged since the previous cold front earlier this month.
According to DRMC assessments, close to 950 structures were affected by localised flooding.
“The City's services are on standby to deal with any impacts related to the predicted adverse weather conditions, like clearing flooded roadways, blocked drains and trees, and restoring electricity to weather-related power outages,” said Powell.