Weather service issues storm surge, wind and thunderstorm warnings across South Africa

Yellow-level alerts cover coastal areas from Western Cape to Eastern Cape and inland provinces including Gauteng.

The South African Weather Service has issued multiple weather warnings for the weekend, including alerts for storm surge, damaging winds and severe thunderstorms across several provinces.

A yellow level 2 warning for damaging winds and waves is in effect between Cape Columbine and Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape from Saturday evening into Monday, with the service warning of disruption to port activities and difficult navigation at sea¹². These conditions are expected to spread to Alexander Bay on the Namibian border and continue until Thursday morning².

The weather service has also issued a yellow level 1 warning for storm surge between Storms River and Cannon Rocks in the Eastern Cape for Saturday morning, cautioning that localised damage to coastal infrastructure and disruptions to beachfront activities may occur¹. Storm surge can manifest as a rapid rise in sea level, sometimes exceeding six metres and accompanied by large wind-driven waves¹.

Cold, wet and windy conditions are forecast for most parts of the Western Cape and Northern Cape¹. A yellow level 2 warning for disruptive rainfall has been issued for Cape Town².

Inland, the weather service has issued yellow level 2 warnings for severe thunderstorms that may lead to localised flooding on Sunday in North West, Gauteng, the extreme northeast of the Northern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga².

The national forecast indicates partly cloudy and cool to warm conditions with isolated to scattered showers, becoming widespread in the southwest, with cold conditions in places in the west¹.