Friday weather warnings: Extreme heat, wildfires expected in three provinces

Weather warnings are in place for three provinces in South Africa, after a round of intense heat increased the probability of wildfires across the south-west of the country. The South African Weather Service (Saws) confirmed that a majority of their warnings would be in place until Sunday.

Just a day after the town of Upington was submerged under water by flooding, a different kind of extreme weather event will hit the Northern Cape during the day. Both the Western and Eastern Capes have been hit with a barrage of alerts about potential veld fires and intensely-hot temperatures.

Weather warnings for Friday 6 December:

Extreme heat

• Cederberg
• Clanwilliam
• Kannaland
• Ladismith
• Langeberg
• Matzikama
• Outdshoorn
• Robertson
• Vredendal

Weather warnings for rising temperatures have been issued across the Western Cape. In total, nine areas could be facing the prospect of a 42C day between Friday and Sunday. Port Elizabeth and the region immediately north of the city also look set for searing temperatures, but no weather warnings have been issued there.

Kruidfontein, Calitzdorp and Addo will officially be the hotspots for today, with each region on the south coast forecast to push the 45C mark (in “real-feel” terms). However, no location is expected to break the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in South Africa – not even the guys in Vioolsdrif, who fell short this week.

Veld fires:

Weather warnings are in place for…

• South-west parts of the Northern Cape, including Kamiesberg, Hantam and Calvinia.
• Central and eastern regions of the Western Cape, including the Breede Valley, Oudtshoorn and Beaufort West.
• South-west areas of the Eastern Cape, including Graaff-Reinet and the Blue Crane Route.

The difference between weather alerts and weather warnings

A “weather alert” is an advisory which raises awareness in advance of either an expected large scale potential disruptive weather system that could later lead to specific warnings with time, or to less urgent alerts of uncommon conditions. This is currently in place for veld fires in the Western Cape.

Meanwhile, a “weather warning” is an alert calling for the reaction due to a very high certainty of a severe weather hazard which is already occurring or imminent within 24 hours, and that could lead to disruptive and disastrous conditions. Warnings are in place for all areas previously mentioned on Friday.