There will be mixed weather patterns in South Africa, with a heatwave in the Cape provinces this month and a cold chill in the interior parts of the country, with more rain expected to fall in the interior this week.
The South African Weather Service has issued an alert for heatwave conditions over parts of the Northern Cape and Western Cape for the rest of the week.
Forecaster Wayne Venter said the western and southwestern parts of South Africa can expect very hot to extremely hot temperatures for the remainder of the week, resulting in heatwave conditions.
Heatwave conditions in Cape provinces
“This follows a brief period of cooler weather. Heatwave conditions are characterised by prolonged periods – at least three consecutive days or more – of temperatures exceeding the average of the hottest month by 5ºC or more,” he said.
Venter said heatwave conditions are anticipated due to the presence of a strong, slow-moving high-pressure system in the upper levels of the atmosphere.
“The air in upper-air high-pressure systems sinks and warms as it descends, leading to higher temperatures at the surface.
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“The system will be accompanied by offshore wind flow along the western coastline of South Africa.
“Very hot to extremely hot temperatures (36ºC to 42ºC) are expected across the coastal areas and adjacent interior of the Northern Cape and the western parts of the Western Cape from Monday.
“The highest temperatures were expected from yesterday and today over the western parts of both the Northern Cape and Western Cape and were expected to spread into parts of the central and Little Karoo.”
Interior regions experience cold air and thunderstorms
In the interior parts of the country, the Weather Hooligan, Juandre Vorster, said cold air, a bit of upper-level polar air circulating from Antarctica, was pushing into South Africa from an easterly direction.
“Then we have air from the north as well that’s compressing a lot of hot air and the little frontal from the Antarctic polar air that is compressing air in the Cape,” he said.
Vorster said there were basically two fronts colliding with each other. He said the rain wasn’t over as Gauteng can expect some thunderstorms tomorrow and on Friday.
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