Severe Weather Warning Issued for Parts of South Africa, Northern KZN Already Experiencing Flooding

• Disruptive rainfall and thunderstorms are expected for large parts of the country on Friday, 3 January 2025
• Some parts of the country are set to experience damaging winds and excessive lightning over the coming weekend
• Vryheid in Northern KwaZulu-Natal has already been hit by flooding as a result of heavy rains in the area

Many South Africans should prepare for a wet weekend ahead.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned that citizens should be prepared for severe weather conditions starting Friday, 3 January 2025.

Disruptive rainfall and thunderstorms expected

According to SAWS, disruptive rainfall and thunderstorms are expected across various provinces. This includes Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

The disruptive rainfall potentially could lead to flooding in the south and eastern parts of Limpopo and the northern parts of Mpumalanga.

Gauteng, North West, and parts of the Free State and Mpumalanga are also expected to experience severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, excessive lightning, large hail, and heavy downpours.

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The wet weather is expected to continue into the weekend and ending on Monday, 6 January.

Thunderstorm warnings issued for some provinces

Yellow Level 2 warnings have also been issued for some provinces due to severe thunderstorms that could cause localised damage to infrastructure, informal settlements, vehicles, and property. Livestock are also at risk.

Yellow Level 2 warnings have been issued for Mpumalanga, the western and northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and the south-western parts of Limpopo.

Many provinces have been experiencing a lot of thunderstorms for the past month. On 17 December it was reported that there was a 60% chance of thundershowers expected as heavy downpours were set to wreak havoc across all provinces.

Northern KZN already experiences flooding

While the warnings have been issued for the coming weekend, part of northern KZN is already flooding.

Vryheid is already feeling the full impact of heavy rains, as flooding has left many homes and properties submerged. Disaster management teams were on standby to deal with the numerous cases being reported.

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The province is often battered when it comes to severe weather, as on 4 November 2024, a storm caused much damage in the province, especially the Pietermaritzburg area.

Damaging storms predicted for KZN

On 17 December 2024, the South African Weather Service predicted severe thunderstorms for many municipal districts in KwaZulu-Natal.

The weather service warned residents that the storm could also cause damage and localised flooding around the province.

While some were preparing for wet weather, a fire warning was also issued for the Limpopo Valley due to the extremely high temperatures.

Source: Briefly News