Weather Report: a warm, dry Wednesday before an intense system takes aim at the Cape

Wednesday, 2 September’s Weather Report shows a fine, warm spring day taking hold across most of the country.

SAWS confirms extremely high fire danger warnings for parts of Limpopo, the Free State and the Northern Cape today, but no severe weather warnings are active.

That calm won’t last long: an intense cut-off low is already being flagged for later this week.

Gauteng can expect a fine, warm day. A “high” UVB sunburn index is in effect, meaning precautions against prolonged sun exposure are worth taking.

REMEMBER | Weather Report: a fine, warm spring day, but a serious system is brewing for later this week

ACCORDING TO SAWS, FINE AND WARM CONDITIONS DOMINATE MOST OF THE INTERIOR

Mpumalanga stays fine and warm, though hot in places over the Lowveld.

Limpopo follows a similar pattern, fine and warm but hot in places over the Limpopo Valley. SAWS has flagged extremely high fire danger for the Blouberg municipality.

North West stays fine and warm throughout the day, turning partly cloudy in the west.

The Free State stays fine, becoming partly cloudy and warm, with isolated showers and thundershowers developing in the south. Extremely high fire danger is in force for the Mohokare municipality.

The Northern Cape starts misty before clearing to partly cloudy, windy and cool to warm conditions, hot in the north, with isolated showers possible in the east. Extremely high fire danger covers most of the province outside its western parts.

The Western Cape sees partly cloudy to cloudy skies along the southern coast with early morning mist, otherwise partly cloudy to fine and cool to warm. The UVB sunburn index sits at “very high.”

Both halves of the Eastern Cape start with morning fog before turning partly cloudy to cloudy, with isolated showers and thundershowers developing.

KwaZulu-Natal stays fine to partly cloudy and warm to hot, very hot in the northeast, with isolated showers possible in the southwest. The UVB sunburn index is “high” here too.

WHY THIS CALM WON’T LAST THROUGH THE WEEK

An intense cut-off low is expected to sweep into the Western and Northern Cape from Thursday into Friday (3-4 September). SAWS has already issued detailed advance warnings.

SAWS has issued a yellow level 4 warning for disruptive rainfall over the Overberg and Garden Route district municipalities in the Western Cape on Thursday. This warning covers flooding risk to roads and settlements, plus major disruption to traffic.

SAWS has also issued a yellow level 4 warning for damaging wind over the Namakwa district in the Northern Cape, plus parts of the Cape Winelands, Central Karoo and Little Karoo districts in the Western Cape. This warning runs from Thursday afternoon into Friday.

Very cold, wet and windy conditions are expected across both provinces once the system moves through. Small stock farmers in particular should prepare.

As the system pushes east over the weekend, expect a noticeable temperature drop, scattered showers and windy conditions in the Free State, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and eastern North West, with a signal for severe thunderstorms over the Free State, North West and Gauteng.

It’s a proper reminder that a calm, sunny spring day like today can sit right before a genuinely serious system just a few days out.

ARE YOU IN THE WESTERN OR NORTHERN CAPE, AND ARE YOU ALREADY PREPARING FOR THURSDAY’S SYSTEM?