National
Cooler temperatures expected this weekend─── 06:22 Wed, 17 Sep 2014
Johannesburg - Cooler temperatures were expected in Gauteng and other parts of the country over the coming weekend, the SA Weather Service said on Tuesday.
"We have experienced clear skies over Gauteng and most parts of the country in the past few days. That was because of the dominance of an upper high-pressure system," senior forecaster Puseletso Mofokeng said.
"The high-pressure system is expected to subside."
From Wednesday, a change was expected in the south western areas of the country, in the Western Cape, and Northern Cape.
"Since Saturday, up to today [Tuesday], there have been some thunder storms in isolated areas in the eastern areas of the Northern Cape and parts of the Eastern Cape," Mofokeng said.
"However, starting from Wednesday, we can expect a change in the Western Cape. We expect to see isolated or scattered showers, with a 30 to 60 percent chance, in the western areas of the Western Cape."
On Thursday, those showers would spread to much of the Western Cape and include the western Northern Cape.
"We are going to see an 80 to 100 percent chance of showers in the western areas of the Western Cape, including Cape Town and surrounding areas," said Mofokeng.
Most other areas in the Western Cape, a 30 to 60 percent chance of isolated showers and thunder showers was expected on Thursday.
"These showers will also affect the western North West province and western Free State," he said.
"On Friday, a cold front will make its way to Gauteng, which will cause cool conditions in the south of the province around the Vereeniging area."
Otherwise, the Pretoria and Bronkhorstspruit areas would remain fairly warm, though strong winds were expected, with temperatures expected to dip below 30 degrees.
Most of the Free State and the Cape provinces were expected to be cold.
Much of the rain on Friday was expected to fall in coastal areas, in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and adjacent interiors.
This was also applicable to eastern Mpumalanga.
"On Saturday, we believe there is a 30 to 60 percent chance of showers in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and eastern areas of Limpopo," Mofokeng said.
In the Eastern Cape, from around Port St Johns to Port Alfred, a 30 percent chance of showers was expected.
Over the central areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, temperatures were expected to cool to below 30 degrees.
"Cool conditions are expected across Gauteng, in the low 20s," Mofokeng said.
"On Sunday it will be cool in most parts of Gauteng and it will remain generally clear, with strong winds expected on Thursday and Friday.
"On Friday, maximum temperatures [in Gauteng] are expected to moderate below 30 degrees, which is also expected to continue into and over the weekend."
Sapa
