ICYMI| Very hot weather, but no heatwave
The South African Weather Services (SAWS) has warmed of very hot and uncomfortable weather conditions over some parts of the country from Wednesday and through the weekend.
Gauteng is peaking at the highest of 31 °C and is expected to get even hotter; however, the SAWS says the country has not reached heatwave conditions.
“From today (Wednesday) and for the next couple of days we are not expecting any rain in Gauteng, but just warm to hot temperatures.
At the moment we don’t have a heatwave, temperatures have not reached a threshold for a heatwave. It’s just normal hot temperatures,” says Weather Services forecaster, Kholofelo Mahlangu.
She says Limpopo and Mpumalanga can also expect the mercury to rise.
Rain is also forecast for Monday and into Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the weather service is closely following tropical storm “Eloise” that is likely to pass South African shores this week.
At the moment, the storm is classified as a Moderate Tropical Storm, with a central pressure slightly less than 1000 hPa (hectopascal).
“It is likely to cause considerable wind-related damage, as well as delivering torrential rain. Given the steep geographic terrain of eastern Madagascar, flooding and washaways are also a distinct possibility. Moreover, along the coast there will also be a risk of storm surge, especially on the southernmost leading quadrant of the storm system.
The good news is that as “Eloise” moves across the landmass of northern Madagascar, it will be exposed to increased friction, as the winds interact with the rough land surface. Moreover, “Eloise” will be deprived of the latent heat energy which it would normally receive from a warm, tropical ocean,” adds the SAWS.
It has made it clear though that – like with any and every tropical system around the world - there is much uncertainty surrounding the prediction of future development and movement of “Eloise”.
“Tropical systems are notoriously fickle and unpredictable, often exhibiting very erratic movement. Modern satellite remote sensing as well as advanced ensemble numeric modelling techniques do however, mitigate much of this uncertainty, at least in the short-term.
Notwithstanding the above, the general public can rest assured that SAWS will continue to be vigilant and to closely monitor the future evolution of “Eloise”. Further timely updates in relation to “Eloise” will be issued as and when necessary,"
ALSO READ
