“Stay Alert”: Pretoria Residents Battle Severe Storms As Hail the Size of Golf Balls Pelts Suburbs

• Severe thunderstorms swept across Pretoria on 28 September 2026, bringing large hailstones to multiple suburbs
• The South African Weather Service issued a Yellow Level 2 warning as storm cells moved through Gauteng
• Residents across Pretoria shared photos and damage reports as the storms caused flooding and infrastructure disruptions

A powerful hailstorm battered several Pretoria suburbs on 28 September 2026, sending residents scrambling to protect their vehicles and homes as golf ball-sized ice pelted streets and gardens across the city.

The Weather Hooligan, a verified storm-chasing weather page with 242,000 followers on Facebook, published images of the hail sent in by a local resident named Loura. The photo showed a hand holding multiple large hailstones collected from a tiled veranda in Waverley, Pretoria.

The page urged residents to shelter their vehicles and remain cautious, warning that stronger storm cells were still capable of producing large hail, heavy rain and frequent lightning.

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Pretoria suburbs bear the brunt

The South African Weather Service issued a Yellow Level 2 severe weather warning as the storms intensified across Gauteng. Areas hit included Pretoria North, Montana, The Willows, Waverley, Silverton, Mamelodi, Silver Lakes and the Pretoria CBD. Storm tracks also extended toward Centurion, Kempton Park, Midrand, Fourways, Alexandra and Sandton.

Residents reported hailstones the size of R5 coins stripping gardens bare and denting rooftops and vehicles. Wet roads and localised flooding caused traffic disruptions across the city, with some areas recording heavy downpours well into the early hours of the morning.

Tshwane Emergency Services advised anyone with hail-related damage to contact the municipality at doc@tshwane.gov.za, call the toll-free 107 emergency line or reach municipal services on 012 358 6300.

See the Facebook post below:

Mzansi shares their storm stories

Hundreds of residents flooded the comments on the Facebook page with their own accounts of the storm:

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@Dineo Huma wrote:

"Rain rain go away 🥲 my new sun room is flooded. Atteridgeville."

@Lydia Mamake Mngomezulu said:

"Small hail also in Pretoria East Nellmaphius."

@Amber Johnson shared:

"Fourways no hail and very little rain, but we could hear the vicious storm Pretoria East way."

@Takalani Mukhuba said:

"Joo, my house was full of water; I slept at 1."

@Tebogo Nkhabutle wrote:

"Yo, hope no serious damage."

@Max Sbuda Manana joked:

"If that finds you walking in the street 😂"

@Helena Grové added:

"Small hail in Waterkloof Ridge, I pray that the Lord will stop the hail and send us soft rain. It rained a bit, but I trust for more rain tomorrow and Wednesday 🛐📖✝️🕊️🙌🇮🇱"

More on severe weather in South Africa

• Briefly News recently reported that a climate warning projected 1,200 additional heat-related deaths in South Africa amid an upcoming El Niño.
• Severe thunderstorms are expected to batter parts of South Africa, with large hail, damaging winds and localised flooding among the risks.
• Netizens expressed concern after deadly floods and an avalanche in Nepal claimed four lives just weeks after the country’s devastating August disaster.

Source: Briefly News