Western Cape citizens have been asked to batten down the hatches as the cold front that made landfall last night is bringing cold and wet weather to the province – with another expected to hit on Friday morning.
The latest forecast, by the South African Weather Services (SAWS), indicated the cold front would bring rain over the southwestern parts of the province and the rain was expected to spread along the south coast by Wednesday, clearing by the afternoon.
However, Local Government and Environmental Affairs MEC Anton Bredell warned that the respite would be brief and that the first the cold front is expected to be followed by a second cold front – expected to hit on Friday morning.
“The cold, wet weather is coming and we are urging people to prepare. The bulk of the winter is still lying ahead of us and we need to be prepared to deal with the conditions as best we can.
“According to the SAWS, light snowfall can be expected over the mountainous regions of the southwestern parts of the province and the wind is expected to reach strong to near gale conditions of about 40 to 60km/h today.
“Our disaster entities and municipal emergency responders are on hand in the event of any emergency. The best number to call in an emergency is the provincial helpline on 112,” said Bredell.
On the plus side, the wetter weather is expected to increase provincial dam levels. On Monday, Mayco member for water and waste Xanthea Limberg reported that dams supplying the Cape Town metro decreased by 0.6% in the last week, from 75% the previous week to 74.4%.
The latest average dam levels, for dams in the Western Cape, is 53.7% – which is 12.5% more than a year ago.
Daily water consumption continues to increase, hitting the 737 million litres per day mark, compared to 730 million litres last week.
Meanwhile, according to the latest Western Cape Department of Water and Sanitation hydrological report, the Bulshoek Dam in the West Coast is the only dam that saw an increase of more than 5%, while the Ernest Robertson Dam on the Gouritz River Catchment has decreased by more than 5%.
Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said: “The combined average level of the Breede Valley River Catchment, which covers the areas of Witzenberg, Langeberg, and others, is currently at 58.8% – a better yield as compared to 40% last year.
“The Gouritz River Catchment, in the Little Karoo and Central Karoo, is still below 25% – which continues to be a great concern for the department,” said Ratau.
-Cape Argus
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