Happy Tuesday, Cape Town.

Get ready to dodge the carcasses of lost umbrellas as the winds pick up and the temperatures drop later today, although it’s already looking pretty dreadful outside.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned that gale force winds will rip through the Western Cape as a cold front makes landfall today.

If you haven’t already whipped out the wet weather gear, get on that.

According to News24, officials are preparing for the weather and keeping an eye on developments.

“We haven’t had any major incidents since the warning,” said Charlotte Powell, head of Public Awareness and Preparedness, Disaster Risk Management Centre in the City of Cape Town.

“The warning was more for coastal impacts and we advised people not to go and swim.”

The fact that there is a need to actively tell people not to swim in this weather is more concerning than the actual weather.

She added that fishing was also strongly discouraged because the windy weather could make shore-based fishing particularly dangerous.

The SAWS predicted wind speeds of between 60km/h and 90km/h from a north-westerly direction.

Rain is expected from Tuesday afternoon and winds will be gale force between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas, the SAWS said.

Safety crews are on standby should anything disastrous happen.

In the rest of the country, things are also looking pretty bleak.

In SA’s interior provinces, temperatures remain low and conditions are hazardous.

“There is fog with a visibility of 100m. It’s overcast with cloud covering at 100%,” De Aar SAWS weather observer Vuyo Xclithole told News24.

Temperature at that station is 1.3°C and there are light winds at 5.4km/h.

The weather is tough – even for seasoned observers.

Here’s what you can expect in terms of temperature:

Wherever you are, stay warm, stay safe, and don’t go swimming.

[source:news24]