Overview
- The South African Weather Service issued impact-based warnings for Wednesday, 23 September, including an orange level 5 alert for parts of the Hantam and Karoo Hoogland districts in the Northern Cape and the Central Karoo.
- Wider yellow level 2 warnings cover large parts of the Western Cape, southern Northern Cape, southern Free State and sections of KwaZulu‑Natal for severe thunderstorms with possible localised damage.
- SAWS says storms can form quickly during spring afternoon heating and may produce large amounts of small hail, excessive lightning, heavy downpours and flash flooding that threaten vehicles and informal settlements.
- Forecasters expect isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers across interior provinces through the week and a wetter, cooler turn for the Western Cape from Friday.
- The public is urged to follow SAWS impact‑based warnings and updates because the orange level denotes a high chance of significant impacts while yellow signals a need for caution.