Extremely cold conditions ‘likely’ to extend into the weekend

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned that the cold front currently in most inland parts of the country is likely to extend to the weekend. Temperatures are expected to dip well below zero on Friday morning in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and other areas.

Four provinces recorded the lowest temperatures on Thursday, with Johannesburg experiencing its coldest day since 10 years ago and the country also experiencing the coldest night for the year.

COLD FRONT TO CONTINUE OVER THE WEEKEND

As it stands, other parts of Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, and Free State continue to battle with the freezing conditions. However, the big freeze has been felt elsewhere.

The four record-breakers can be found in four different provinces. One of these ‘coldest ever temperatures’ has just smashed a 48-year-old low, and one particular thermometer reached the freezing depths of -7.5C.

Eastern Cape Provincial Weather spokesperson, Garth Sampson, told the SABC that there was good rainfall in some parts of the province and the rains are expected to continue on Friday.

“The Nelson Mandela Bay area was lucky enough to get a little bit of rain last night. In the Bay itself there was over 30 millimetres but the good news the Langkloof area and Kareedouw got roughly between 32 and 36 millimetres,” Sampson said.

“Patensie and Jourbertina did not fare so well both got less than 10 millimetres. This is not going to solve the drought problem but is going to go the long way in delaying day zero. Snow is falling in some parts of the Northern Cape including Kimberley amid a cold front,” he added.

Farmers and citizens were also advised to take the necessary precautions ahead of the expected cold snap and to ensure that livestock and pets have sufficient shelter and water.

READ: Snow, wet and extremely cold conditions in 5 SA provinces this week