Thursday to be the coldest day in Joburg since snowfall in 2012

Joburgers are warned to brace themselves as Thursday is expected to be the coldest day since the snowfall in 2012 due to a strong cold front with near-polar air.

GAUTENG WILL BE FEELING THE BRUNT OF THE COLD ON THURSDAY

ALERT: COLDEST DAY SINCE SNOW OF 2011 POSSIBLE IN JOBURG ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON DUE TO STRONG COLD FRONT WITH NEAR-POLAR AIR!!!

Johannesburg 7°C
Vereeniging 8°C
Pretoria 10°C

— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) July 21, 2021

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) said the cold weather is expected to hit Gauteng on Thursday.

Temperatures are going to drop a lot in Gauteng from Thursday. Maximum temperatures will be very low, with Johannesburg only reaching a high of -7°C on Thursday.

Friday morning will be an icy morning, -3°C is expected for Johannesburg.

ALERT: POWERFUL COLD FRONT WITH CORE NEAR ANTARCTICA TO BLAST NEAR-POLAR AIR TO GAUTENG FROM THURSDAY, with accompanying upper-air trough adding intensity!!!

— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) July 19, 2021

This comes after SAWS has warned of snow and cold weather over the Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces.

Disruptive snowfalls were expected in many of the higher mountain regions of the Cape provinces when a second cold front made landfall on Wednesday.

MEDIA RELEASE: Yet another week of bitterly cold winter weather in the forecast for South Africa with snowfall for some provinces. pic.twitter.com/RFteUvDjXg

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) July 19, 2021

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

A Yellow Level 2 warning for snow, leading to difficult driving conditions over the southern parts of the Free State, is in place for Thursday.

A Yellow Level 4 warning for disruptive snowfall is expected over Lootsberg, Wapadsberg, Penhoek, Outeniqua, Nico Malan, Winterberg, and gravel road passes in Tsitsikamma, Outeniqua, and Baviaanskloof on Thursday.

Other Yellow Level 4 warnings have been issued this week:

One is in place for flooding in Cape Town, the Cape Winelands, and Overberg on Wednesday, and another has been declared for torrential rain between Plettenberg Bay & Fish River on Thursday.

ALSO READ: Tips on how to stay safe on the winter roads