Snowy weekend as winter grips the Cape

While Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have been experiencing a slight easing in winter’s icy grip, with bright sunny days and a rise in average temperatures, high-lying areas in the Cape have experienced snow.

Pictures on social media show snow falls in the Matroosberg Private Nature Reserve in the Western Cape. A video of the snow coming down heavily was posted on Twitter by Storm Report SA.

The Matroosberg Reserve posted a picture of snow blanketing the area along with the description: “If you are willing to hike in bad rainy weather, you might be able to reach this. But it will depend on how far you are willing to hike and if you are willing to get wet, as it’s still raining. It’s not a lot of snow, but if you have never seen snow, you might be impressed. The day is not ideal for youngsters and the elderly.”

The reserve is situated on the farm Erfdeel, which is a fully working farm, with interesting farm tours said on their website to be “real adventure style”.

Light snow was also sighted in Sutherland.

Snow Report’s Richard Le Sueur, speaking on Cape Talk, said snow had started falling in some parts of the Western Cape late on Friday, and more was expected late on Sunday.

“It might sprinkle on some of the high passes but every so often it does come down lower and a bit more than the data suggests,” Le Sueur said, adding that he did not think this weekend’s snow was the last for this winter.

The SA Weather Service’s forecast for Sunday included light snow over the high-lying areas of the Western Cape, the western half of the Eastern Cape and the south-western high-lying areas of the Northern Cape.

A yellow level 2 warning was issued for damaging waves and winds leading to localised damage to coastal infrastructure and difficulty in navigation at sea between Saldanha Bay and East London.

Gauteng Weather meanwhile tweeted that cold weather is expected in the province from Sunday, due to an overnight cold front. It forecast temperatures of 2-7°C for Sunday, 3-16°C on Monday and 3-17°C on Tuesday.

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