Extreme weather conditions expected today across province

THERE will be heat, thunder, lightning and possibly even fire today, the weather office has warned.

In the North Eastern Cape, temperatures will go over 40°C, warned Garth Sampson, for the SA Weather Service in Nelson Mandela Bay said yesterday.

In the midlands, temperatures will climb to 37°C in King William’s Town and Bhisho, Sampson said.

He issued a warning for both “extremely high fire danger conditions” in the western interior of the province, and “severe thund in the North Eastern Cape.

Sampson said: “The Eastern Cape is in for another hot day today. Extreme heat with temperatures reaching around 40°C are expected in places in the Eastern Cape, especially areas west of Komani.”

Coastal cities will fare better with East London going to 30°C, Nelson Mandela Bay 29°C, and Port St Johns 30°C.

This will be thanks to a strong northeasterly wind coming off the ocean, according to Windguru.

A short distance inland will see the land baking.

Mthatha will hit 35°C, Grahamstown 37°C, Komani 37°C, and Uitenhage 39°C, but the hottest areas will be in the Karoo with temperatures in Cradock and Graaff-Reinet a scalding 41°C.

King William’s Town will experience the biggest swing from cold to hot, going from 12°C at night to 37°C, a difference of 25°C.

Other towns likely to reach 40°C are Fort Beaufort, Addo, Jansenville and Willowmore.

Sampson blamed the extreme heat on a “surface trough” over the Eastern Cape producing clear skies and calm winds.

Temperatures are expect to slide down by night with isolated thunderstorms expected east of Komani in the evening. —