Cold front: Nine weather records broken this week – including one in Orania

It may be the first day of Spring, but no South African can be blamed for getting their thermals out on Tuesday. The big freeze continues to keep Mzansi in its icy grip, and this latest cold front has broken a number of records. From KZN across to Orania, the weather has been nothing short of extreme.

South Africa weather for Tuesday 1 September

We’re expecting gale force winds to blast across the South West, as the rest of the country battles with plummeting temperatures and isolated showers. Of course, Eskom has lumped in a new round of load shedding for 1 September – just to really sweeten the deal…

It’s a cold & wet #SpringDay! Cloudy & cold conditions move in over the eastern & southern parts of SA with the chance of rain. Afternoon t-storms are possible over the central & southern interior with strong winds. Gale force winds will howl along the E.Cape & W.Cape coast. pic.twitter.com/gv6bvU7OWu

— People°s Weather (@peoples_weather) September 1, 2020

#PowerAlert 1

Eskom to implement Stage 2 loadshedding from 12:00 until 22:00 as power system is severely
constrained@News24 @SABCNews @NewzroomAfrika @eNCA pic.twitter.com/vj8mMzIkaa

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) September 1, 2020

Temperature records tumble in South Africa

In total, nine weather records have fallen since Sunday. One location has ended up with the most rain it’s ever seen within one day, whereas a cluster of towns in KZN now have a new ‘lowest maximum temperature’. Going one step further, a couple of places have set their lowest-ever recorded temperatures, after the mercury dropped across the central interior.

• The usually bone-dry Venetia Mine in Limpopo experienced its highest ever daily rainfall, with 4.8mm landing within a 24-hour period.
• A total of six ‘lowest maximum temperatures‘ were recorded across six separate locations in KZN: Ixopo, Pennington South, Durban South Athlone, King Shaka Airport, Mandini, and Mtunzini all broke long-standing records.
• Two ‘lowest minimum temperatures‘ were also logged. Grahamstown slipped to 0.2C, whereas Orania dropped below -5C. These are the coldest temperatures ever recorded in either location.

Photo: SAWS