Overview
- SAWS placed Gauteng under an Orange Level 5 warning for Sunday as severe thunderstorms intensify, bringing heavy downpours, excessive lightning and very strong winds.
- Orange and yellow alerts also cover the eastern Free State, eastern North West, western Limpopo and the Mpumalanga Highveld, with additional Level 2 risk along parts of the escarpment.
- Officials caution about localised flooding of roads, low-lying bridges and settlements, potential infrastructure damage, large amounts of small hail in places and disruptions to power and communications.
- Saturday’s Gauteng alert ran from 3:00 to 23:59, with conditions escalating into Sunday and an 80% chance of widespread showers moving from the Free State into Gauteng, according to forecaster Odirile Modipa.
- Separate advisories warn of extremely high fire danger for the Dawid Kruiper and Kai Garib municipalities in the Northern Cape and the West Coast district of the Western Cape.