Home Watch: Did snow fall on Table Mountain this week?

Watch: Did snow fall on Table Mountain this week?

One of the most hectic cold fronts to hit us this year has been sweeping across the country, bringing freezing temperatures and a few snow flurries to parts of South Africa. But did any of the white stuff fall on Table Mountain within the past 48 hours or so?

Watch: ‘Alleged snow’ on Table Mountain for Monday 17 August

Opinion has been severely divided online. There are those who want to believe: After all, it is a very romantic and infrequent notion. Yet there is also the cohort that are harbouring suspicions. The snow covering was minimal, and reports have been generally inconclusive. This is the video that has caused the speculation:

SAWS burst the bubble

It’s easy to see why people believe snow has landed on Table Mountain. But, and we’re sorry to be the ones to say this, the substance is actually more likely the result of sleet, or even ‘graupel’ – a snow-like substance that doesn’t match the scientific definition of what experts would call ‘snowfall’.

That’s according to the SAWS Weather Office in Cape Town, who have told us that Table Mountain ‘had some sleet, but not really snow’. So technically, we cannot say that it snowed on the world-famous landmark this time around – in fact, the last time such an event happened was during a bitter cold front in September 2018.

Snow for South Africa on Tuesday 18 August

Blizzard-like conditions have been reported further afield, though. The high peaks of the Western Cape have had a dusting of snow since Sunday, with the Eastern Cape and Free State now shivering in the cold:



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