Overview
- SAWS issued the active warnings on Wednesday, putting a Red Level 10 veld fire warning in force for many parts of the Northern Cape and adjacent areas because the Fire Danger Index is above 75.
- A Yellow Level 2 warning covers most of KwaZulu-Natal for Oct 14 from 10:00 to 23:59, forecasting heavy downpours, hail, lightning, damaging winds and localized flooding.
- Yellow Level 1 damaging-wind warnings apply to Karoo Hoogland and the Central Karoo, with specific risks to high-sided vehicles, temporary structures and exposed transport routes.
- The weather service tells farmers and land managers to remove personnel and equipment from fields and to place fire teams on full stand-by, and it advises the public to avoid travel, shelter indoors and protect livestock and vehicles during storms.
- Forecasts show pockets of very high daytime heat in coastal and northern towns and predict showers and storms spreading inland over the weekend, which could create new fire starts or flash-flood risks and strain firefighting resources.