Snow and cold in South Africa

Hi All,

Long time since I made a thread, but after seeing this today I thought I'd bring it to your attention. As many of you know, we're having a pretty damn hot summer here in North America. My family in South Africa have been telling me all winter that it is one of the worst they can ever remember - really cold!

Yesterday SA had snow in Mooiriver and other areas.



Now that may not be such a big shocker, as we do have snow in SA on the rare occasion, and usually at the higher altitudes (Drakensberg mountain peaks for e.g). However, this is not the first time I've heard of it this year, so did some digging. Seems we had snow in Namibia in June -

www.abovetopsecret.com... - Thanks TOMC for that

and in East London in July - www.abovetopsecret.com... - Thanks boo1981 for this thread

Now consider that East London and Mooriver got hit only 3 weeks apart. I've never heard of that nor experienced that in SA. And now this today:

IT IS going to get cold – so cold that the South African Weather Service has issued a red alert warning to Disaster Management Services.

Today, forecasters predict the temperature will plummet to 8°C in Joburg.

By mid-afternoon, Vereeniging will be 6°C, with Pretoria a tad warmer at 10°C. The low in Joburg is expected to be 4°C tonight.

The mercury is expected to climb to a chilly 13°C in Joburg tomorrow.

Senior forecaster Jan Vermeulen said that with the cold weather will be 30 percent chance of thundershowers or possibly even snow.

“Rain is predicted for southern Gauteng, with Vereeniging and Heidelberg also likely to be affected,” Vermeulen said.

“Joburg might also see rain, or possibly snow,” he added.

The Weather Service’s red alert is a warning for people to take action. “We also sent an SMS to Joburg’s Disaster Management Services,” Vermeulen said.

The Weather Service has issued red alerts in six provinces, all related to falling temperatures and possible snowfalls.

www.iol.co.za...

To say the weather there and here has been at the extreme ends recently, is quite an understatement.

reply to post by TortoiseKweek


Hi I started a thread here around the 5th July in regards to the cold weather/floods and Snow they are having in South Africa.

I have a friend who lives there and has never seen it so bad, there is also another member who has replied in my thread who lives there too. They say that its the worst they have ever seen.

reply to post by boo1981


Hi Boo, thanks for the reply.

Yip, the family there have been moaning about it all winter to me. I lived there for 30 years, and never seen the weather like that. Nice pics from your friend! That's why I linked your thread

reply to post by TortoiseKweek


Thank you I am really worried about the winter that may lie in store for us in the UK. Last year temperatures got quite low and we had some heavy snowfall.
With the US having such a bad heatwave, I think us in the Northern hemisphere are going to have a very ruff winter.

Well guys,

I live IN South Africa, and yes, although we have had some cold weather, it is hardly anything surprising. It really is not uncommon to get snow in some of the higher laying areas here.

We did however have alot of rain in my area this year, the highest rainfall in 70 years. Although amazingly this follows one of the worst droughts in a long time too.

Snow, is really not that uncommon in SA, as a matter of fact you can sometimes find it in summer too, on the higher laying areas.

vvv

Nice, i just wish we can also get snow in Jhb, my dad send me pics this morinig of snow in his town Volksrust, i was getting ready for summer, to swim and hoped summer could come early this year, and now this.

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep


Hey VVV,

Yes we do get snow in the higher areas, like the Drakensberg peaks. However, I can never recall a place like East London and Mooiriver getting hit 3 weeks apart?

(BTW - what you doing with the baywatch chicks?? )

Strange, we had some warmer days, but last night it was 10 degrees, and because of the astronomical electricity increases one would rather dress in increasing layers then plug in a heater.
I think in our area the rains and floods are still coming, although the mountains look so pretty with their snowy caps. The cold does strike me as more extreme than usual, but that could be subjective.

It's not really that cold ... here I'll back it up with some figures:

Average June, July temp is 4 degrees C (forecast low this week is about 4 degrees C)

www.climatetemp.info...

www.weatherreports.com...


I think that the newspapers are making an issue of this because they have been directed by their masters to support Al Gore's latest fear-mongering tactics.

Originally posted by deltaalphanovember
I think that the newspapers are making an issue of this because they have been directed by their masters to support Al Gore's latest fear-mongering tactics.

Well done boet! Agreed 100%

I recall a convo last year about rainfall, same thing. While it felt heavy, it fitted perfectly with long term averages.

I don't know about "media manipulation" so much, all i know is that jozi is fool of pooftes who moan if it's too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too busy, too quiet .... you get the idea And i ride bike, i KNOW how cold it is on any given morning!!! Only been really cold for about a week, the rest been a fairly average chilly.

We might get snow later, a possibility almost any season, although not frequent, only every few years. We'll have to see what the wind brings.

Don't know if this video is available outside Canada, I tried to find a link in SA but didn't. Go to the 53sec mark, and see the snow in Harrismith.....if you can.

www.ctv.ca...

The tiny Free State town was under a blanket of snow after heavy falls overnight. The unusual weather caused the closure of a long stretch of the N3 highway, between Van Reenen's Pass and Villiers. This left many travellers moving between KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng on Monday having to seek accommodation in Harrismith, a halfway spot, overnight.

Petrol stations and stores were running on generators as the town was also hit by an electricity cut. "Nobody must even think of venturing out on the roads," said Dries van Niekerk, owner of Dries Auto. "Today is a day to stay indoors and drink Gluhwein."

He said this was the worst snow storm since 1992. Van Niekerk at the time was in the town council's emergency services.

"We had cowboys, out of towners, who decided to drive down the road into the valley during that snow storm. And the next thing we received a few hours later, was an emergency call to say they were dying."

He said emergency services with the help of the army were then tasked with the rescue.

"You can lose yourself in weather like this. We recorded three centimetres of snow last night."

Worst snow storm since 1992

www.news24.com...

Parts of the Karoo were blanketed in snow for the first time in 30 years

www.iol.co.za...

......guess there's nothing to see here, all just average stuff, move along.... LOL!

Fine, lets go back in time ... about 112 years ago.


Here is are eye-witness weather reports from Matjiesfontein (Karoo) and the Free State:

4th July 1901 Saw memorial to General Wauchope outside Matjesfontain. Breakfasted at Matjesfontain. Hills in early morning looked all covered in snow.

30th August 1901 Watered horses twice, crossed over into Basutoland. Mountains in distance looked very pretty all capped with snow. went into town with Gray. Called at club and did some shopping. Ficksberg town or village prettily situated in Valley. Lunched with 55th Imperial Yeomanry. Asked Sgt Major Lee to include my name in supplementry list Transvaal bar. Gave him a letter for M.I.

17th September 1901 Reveille 6am. 5 horses lost during the night. I found two grazing amongst the 55th Imperial Yeomanry. hills 15 to 20 miles from here covered in snow. Marched to new camp about 9 miles. Quicke went to find water.

www.qdg.org.uk...

Snow in South Africa? Not unusual. Not a product of global climate change either.

reply to post by deltaalphanovember


Thanks for the reply delta. Just to clarify, I'm not saying it's part of the global climate change. I'm saying it's not usual. To me, having snow every year in Toronto is usual - because that's what happens. To you, having parts of the Karoo blanketed in snow 30 years later is usual.

Definitions of Usual - "Commonly encountered, experienced, or observed, of the most normal, frequent, or regular type"

I'm not seeing anything 'Usual' in the snow occurring there....but hey, it's just my opinion. We are all entitled to one, and I do appreciate yours.

no worries, I have always valued your input and insight.

at the moment it is sunny and blue skies here in JHB. Going to get very cold tonight.

reply to post by deltaalphanovember


Thanks man, same here. Nice to have a good chat with a fellow Saffer! With the heat we've been having here, I'd gladly have your weather at the moment. It's been above the 30 Deg C mark for the past 2 weeks, and the humidity is worse than Durban! At least in Durbs you get a Land or Sea Breeze depending on time of day/night. Not so much here

www.weather.com...

reply to post by TortoiseKweek

Hi all..

I used to live in South Africa for 28 years. I lived in Harrismith too. Its NOT unusual for Harrismith to get snow, I remember as a kid playing in the snow in Harrismith.

BUT I have to agree that there's quite a few places like East London that that I can't recall ever having snow (although maybe they have).

One thing people should know though.. South Africans don't have a furnace in the house. they live by space heater if they have one and thousands don't have anything but a blanket and some clothes.

SO it is very bad there. South Africa does get cold ,,, YES,,, BUT normally it doesn't last too long. Living with temps in the single digets daily without heated buildings and heated homes... it's hard..

I remember sleeping under 5 blankets as a kid and my school shoes being frozen to the carpet in the morning.. NOT FUN.

So to all my fellow South Africans.. "Hou die blink kant bo" (a.k.a keep your head up)

reply to post by Nightfury


I lived in Bethlehem (my son was born there) - that's a cold place! In 2006 we had metre deep snow, and the town was cut off for a week.
We had to shovel snow from the roof of the hospital because it was threatening to cave in (they had built it with a flat roof).

Originally posted by TortoiseKweek

Parts of the Karoo were blanketed in snow for the first time in 30 years

I recall those snows, i was a kid on the trans-karoo, with my granny going to the family farm.

The snow scared me

reply to post by harryhaller


Yip, the last time I remember proper snow in Jhb was in 1981, and I was also a pickie. The only time I ever had a chance to build a snowman, and he only lasted a day... LOL!

delta, Bethlehem can be really cold. Only went there once to a relatives farm. The farm fresh butter and bread was great - the weather - not so much!