Gauteng Residents Experience Electric Storm Which Causes Blackouts

• Residents of some parts of Gauteng experienced an electric storm which resulted in some houses experiencing blackouts
• Gautengers also shared that their appliances were affected by the storm, which started on 9 February 2025 and lasted for a few hours
• Stormchaser Juandre Vorster spoke to Briefly News and shared his opinion on what caused the electric storm

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 for seven years.

GAUTENG — Stormchaser Juandre Vorster advised Gauteng residents not to take pictures of electric storms and to keep a very safe distance from them. This was after an electric storm passed through parts of Gauteng on 9 February 2025. Netizens shared their experience with the storm.

Electric storm in Gauteng

Vorster shared pictures of the weather phenomenon on his Facebook page The Weather Hooligan. Speaking to Briefly News, he shared his opinion on what caused the storm and how long it would last. The storm hit parts of Centurion and Johannesburg. He believed that it lasted for two hours in Johannesburg.

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What to do during a storm

He opined that the storm was caused by heat and the high humidity, which built up a lot of static in the atmosphere. He advised people to stay away from windows, and not to stand under trees.

"If you're outside and the lightning storm is around you, stay in your car and do not make any sudden movements," he said.

Recent weather phenomena

• The South African Weather Service warned South Africans that a tropical storm was developing off the coast of Madagascar
• The tropical storm changed direction and moved away from South Africa's danger zone
• A tornado passed through a village in the Eastern Cape and a video of the phenomenon went viral

Netizens share experiences

Netizens commenting on Facebook shared their experiences of the storm.

Melody Nandalall said:

"Our power went out in the area, probably due to this. Also, hit my home earlier where a ray of lighting went through it followed by a crackling sound. Looks like the TV got the brunt of it."

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Sbutubutu MaDlamini ESwatini said:

"Boom, the electricity went off."

Susan Saayman said:

"It started at 17:00 this afternoon at Ortia, and only now it got quiet. "

Annie Laughton said:

"We had a huge storm with massive thunder and lightning late this afternoon. The area had a power outage due to a strike."

Madga Ludick said:

"Big thunderstorm currently in Randfontein. Thunder, lighting and rain."

Thunderstorms in parts of South Africa

In a related article, Briefly News reported that parts of South Africa experienced thunderstorms which were accompanied by heavy rainfall. The South African Weather Service issued a Yellow Level 2 warning for different provinces in the country.

The flagged provinces experienced localised flooding due to the downpour that came with the storms, and South Africans welcomed the rain after experiencing hot weather.

Source: Briefly News