
Weather service forecasts warmer winter
JOHANNESBURG - The Weather Service is warning about a fake weather alert circulating on social media.
It claims the country will experience extreme cold until August.
The message refers to the 'Aphelion phenomenon', a term widely misunderstood.
The service forecasts a warmer winter this year.
Lehlohonolo Thobela from the Weather Service said what drives our seasons is the Earth's tilt.
"Once it turns towards the sun or away from the sun is what actually drives our seasons," he said.
"What we're expecting is a mild winter. We're expecting temperatures to remain above normal, which you'll get in winter."

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Mail & Guardian
a day ago
- Mail & Guardian
Snowfall and bitter cold to hit all provinces except Limpopo
Rare snow in Johannesburg in 2023 caused a stir.(@ntombza/Twitter) South Africans must brace for 'a spell of extreme winter weather' starting this weekend, with For the thousands of runners participating in the 'However, runners should be aware of a cool change in the weather, later in the day, when a coastal low and cold front are expected to move northwards up the KwaZulu-Natal coast, introducing colder, more moist conditions to the coast and adjacent interior,' the weather service said on Thursday. 'In the coming days, a particularly intense This system will begin affecting the Western and Northern Cape early on Saturday morning. By Monday and Tuesday, this weather system will have shifted further east over South Africa, affecting the central and eastern provinces. 'A significant and dramatic drop in daytime temperatures can be expected over all provinces, with the possible exception of Limpopo,' the weather service said, advising farmers of small stock to implement appropriate measures to prevent stock losses from exposure to bitter cold and wind. Some of these snowfalls will be disruptive, affecting traffic flow over mountain passes — for example, the N3 highway at Van Reenen's Pass on Monday and Tuesday. Strong, damaging surface winds will affect large parts of the interior provinces from Sunday, leading to an elevated risk of wildfires, especially over the central and eastern interior, ahead of the cold change. These extreme conditions are expected to persist over some of the eastern provinces until Wednesday, the weather service said. Along the southwest coast, there will be strong to near-gale force winds and very rough seas from Friday, spreading to the south and east coasts during Saturday, and lasting until at least Tuesday along the east coast. Heavy rainfall will lead to localised flooding and infrastructure damage over parts of the Eastern Cape coast and adjacent interior on Sunday, shifting to southern KwaZulu-Natal on Monday. Sunday will see 'bitterly cold daytime conditions' over many provinces with maximum temperatures unlikely to exceed +10 C. These conditions will be exacerbated by strong, gusty winds. There is also a risk of severe thunderstorms, possibly associated with damaging hail and winds over some provinces, including North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal during Monday and Tuesday. There will be a risk of showers or thunderstorms developing over the Drakensberg, spreading to the coast in the evening. The weather service said that given the intensity of the cut-off low system, there is a low probability that Gauteng and the Highveld region of Mpumalanga may experience light snowfalls on Monday night, extending into Tuesday. 'However at this stage there is significant uncertainty among the various numeric weather prediction models in this regard.'


The South African
3 days ago
- The South African
SNOW alert: These 8 provinces to experience snowfall this weekend
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Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Forecast U-turn: Southwest SA now seen having a very wet midwinter
One key trend that remains largely unchanged from previous forecasts is that across most of South Africa, the winter and spring of 2025 are expected to be warmer than usual. While this will be welcomed by many, it is worrying on a number of fronts. The South African Weather Service has made a U-turn in its rolling five-month outlook for the southwest and the eastern coastal regions of the country. From midwinter, the southwest is expected to have above-normal rainfall during its annual wet season, but then things will dry out as winter fades and spring emerges. But the eastern coastal areas are expected to get drenched right through to spring. This is a marked departure from previous forecasts, which predicted an unseasonably dry winter for these areas. 'During winter and early spring, the areas that receive significant seasonal rainfall are limited to the southwestern parts of the country and the southern and eastern coastal areas,' the Weather Service said in its monthly Seasonal Climate Watch that looks five months ahead — in this case from June to October. 'During midwinter the southwest and eastern coastal areas are expected to receive above-normal rainfall, however during late winter and early spring only the eastern coastal areas' expected rainfall remains above normal, with the southwest's outlook changing to below normal rainfall.' One key trend that remains largely unchanged from previous forecasts is that across most of South Africa, the winter and spring of 2025 are expected to be warmer than usual. What this means A mild winter means you may not have to bundle up as per usual and crank up your heating systems. But on the global climate stage, the past decade has been the warmest on record with frightening implications for societies and the environment, and this is in keeping with that worrying trend. Not having to wear a sweater as often as in past winters is not a good sign. While this will be welcomed by many, it is worrying on a number of fronts — warmer is not better against the backdrop of rapid climate change linked to fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions. 'The anticipated above-normal rainfall over the southwest and eastern coastal areas during midwinter and late winter and early spring over the eastern coastal areas might not be significant enough to benefit water resources in terms of improving the water levels in reservoirs,' the report said. 'Possible benefits are likely to cancel out due to the anticipated above-normal temperatures, further impacting water levels in areas such as the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga, where a number of settlements are still impacted by the ongoing drought conditions.' Dam levels in the Western Cape are currently at 57.2%, according to the latest data from the Department of Water Affairs. At this time of the year they are typically lower than other provinces because of regional rainfall patterns, but they will need good rains to top up properly. This rolling outlook is never set in stone and it could change again next month when it will look ahead to November. DM