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It is supposed to be Spring, yet the South Africa Weather Service (SAWS) has issued advisories warning the public of disruptive weather conditions, including rain and snow, in parts of the country.

The last thing we all expect is to be snowed in or swept away by heavy wind, but the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has urged motorists to pack food and blankets in their cars, just in case they get stranded, as authorities warn South Africans about the snow and flooding in parts of the country.

Over the weekend of 19-22 September, which was meant to be the spring solstice, a massive snowstorm klapped parts of the country, turning KZN into absolute chaos. The following weekend the weather service forecast extreme cold temperatures with the possibility of light snowfall in some provinces from Sunday into Tuesday.

SAWS climatologist Andries Kruger told The Citizen that during the Spring months, while the Summer weather systems start to make themselves at home, those classic Winter cold fronts still like to sneak in now and then.

“For example, the moisture from the north is coming closer but the cold fronts from the south can still be strong from time to time.”

While climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, Kruger mentioned that the shift from Winter to Summer can sometimes bring on more hectic conditions, like the recent bout of snow that caught everyone off guard.

“This variation and interaction between the typically summer and winter systems can make the weather quite unsettling.

“Cold weather is not unusual in the early spring months, including October. This happens because the cold fronts from the south can still be strong from time to time, as what happened last week.”

The weather service’s forecasting centre said the extreme conditions should be petering out in the next seven days.

“The weather system that was dominating was what brought the cold. But now that the system is out, everything will gradually return to its average of the season.

“We are not expecting cold weather this week, it’s more like a recovery week. What we are expecting this week is each region returning to its spring weather.

They said temperatures will start to recover over the western parts of the country from Tuesday, AKA the temperatures will be warming. Meanwhile, the eastern parts of the country are expected to warm, too, specifically the Eastern Cape, KZN, and some parts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, from Friday.

However, “normal” Spring conditions very much include strong winds and varying temperatures.

“Our spring is normally dry conditions where the temperature is sometimes warm to hot, sometimes it’s cold, and there are strong winds.”

We sure have had one of the wettest and most bone-chilling winters yet, so we are all lekker lus for some solid sun.

[source:citizen]