Weather Report: Orange Level 5 warning for severe thunderstorms

Wednesday, 23 September’s Weather Report shows partly cloudy, cool to warm conditions across the country, with isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers expected almost everywhere.

SAWS has issued an Orange Level 5 warning for severe thunderstorms, alongside a Yellow Level 2 warning covering large parts of the Northern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

Gauteng will be partly cloudy and cool to warm, with isolated showers and thundershowers.

The UVB sunburn index is “high” today, so sun precautions are worth taking if you’re outdoors for long.

REMEMBER | Weather Report: the picture across all nine provinces

WHERE TODAY’S ORANGE WARNING IS IN FORCE

Mpumalanga will see morning fog patches in places in the south.

Otherwise, it stays partly cloudy and cool to warm, with isolated showers and thundershowers.

Limpopo will be partly cloudy and warm, with isolated showers and thundershowers over the extreme south-western parts.

North West can expect partly cloudy and cool to warm conditions, with isolated showers and thundershowers.

The Free State will see cloudy and cool to warm conditions, with isolated showers and thundershowers, scattered in the extreme southern and eastern parts.

The Northern Cape will be partly cloudy and cool to warm, with isolated showers and thundershowers, scattered in the south. 

An Orange Level 5 warning for severe thunderstorms covers the Hantam and Karoo Hoogland Districts.

It could cause injuries and danger to life, large amounts of small hail, and damage to infrastructure, settlements and vehicles. 

A Yellow Level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms also covers the Karoo Hoogland District and the southern parts of the province.

WHY THE CAPE AND KWAZULU-NATAL FACE THE HEAVIEST RISK TODAY

The Western Cape will be cloudy and cool to warm, with scattered showers and thundershowers, isolated over the West Coast. 

The same Orange Level 5 warning for severe thunderstorms covers the Central Karoo District. 

A Yellow Level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms also covers vast parts of the province, except the north and central parts of the West Coast District.

The Eastern Cape‘s western half will be cloudy and cool to warm, with scattered showers and thundershowers.

The eastern half will be cloudy and cool to warm too, also with scattered showers and thundershowers.

KwaZulu-Natal will see morning fog over the interior.

Otherwise, it stays partly cloudy and warm, becoming cloudy in the afternoon with scattered showers and thundershowers, isolated in the extreme north-east. 

A Yellow Level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms covers the south-western and western parts of the province.

The UVB sunburn index is “very high” here today.

According to SAWS, the Yellow Level 2 warning could bring localised damage to vehicles, excessive lightning, large amounts of small hail, and localised damage to infrastructure across all the areas it covers.

It’s a genuinely serious warnings day, with an Orange Level 5 alert stretching across two provinces.

Worth taking real care if you’re anywhere near the Northern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal or the Free State today.

Are you in one of today’s warning areas, and how are you preparing?