Storm-Chaser Advises Eastern Cape Residents To Stay Away From Tornadoes After Viral Video

• Residents of Butterworth in the Eastern Cape experienced a weather phenomenon that left many anxious
• A video of a tornado went viral, and the video shows the phenomenon developing in thick, dark rain clouds
• Storm-chaser Juandre Vorster, also known as The Weather Hooligan, spoke to Briefly News and gave his opinion about the weather and tips on how residents can stay safe

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature, weather and natural disaster-related incidents at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

EASTERN CAPE—A video of a tornado developing in the Eastern Cape on 6 January 2025 went viral on social media. Registered storm-chaser Juandre Vorster, also known as The Weather Hooligan, gave his opinion to Briefly News about the stormy weather conditions and how residents could stay safe.

Tornado strikes the Eastern Cape

A video The Weather Hooligan posted on his Facebook page shows a tornado travelling through a village in the Eastern Cape. The weather phenomenon comes after the South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued warnings of stormy weather conditions, with heavy rainfall expected for much of the week. The video shows how the tornado moves through the village, with dark clouds in the background.

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View the video here:

The Weather Hooligan speaks to Briefly News

Speaking to Briefly News, Vorster gave his opinion on how a tornado develops and how villagers can stay safe during one. He has six years of experience predicting the weather and helping community members stay safe during disruptive weather conditions. He is an experienced storm-chaser and the director of the Stormchasers' African Division.

"The weather in the Eastern Cape is to proceed with stormy conditions until Friday. We have a lot of moisture coming in from the Indian Ocean meeting the cold air from Lesotho, causing convection over the Eastern Cape. This causes instability in the air, so you're going to have a lot of thunderstorms in the Eastern Cape," he said.

He said the instability in the air turns into small vortices, and when the air starts turning into different vortices, a horizontal effect pushes down into the ground, causing tornadoes. He added that tornadoes are common in the Transkei region.

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What to do during a tornado

He advised residents to stay away from trees with lightning because the Eastern Cape clouds are static.

"When there are heavy winds, people must stay indoors because there is debris flying around, and that can hurt people. In the event of a tornado, stay indoors. Don't run outside because the debris kills people. What people do is they want to film tornadoes, and they get hurt. Tornadoes are very dangerous. Stay out of the path of a tornado. If you see a tornado go towards a village or a house, evacuate the village or the house," he told Briefly News.

Tornado sighted in Harrismith

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a tornado tore through Harrismith in KwaZulu-Natal in November 2024. Residents shared pictures and videos of the weather phenomenon.

Residents shared an image on a Facebook page about the tornado, and Briefly News reached out to weather expert Garth Sampson. He said it was very likely that the tornado made landfall in South Africa.

Source: Briefly News