A largely settled start to October is expected in South Africa on Thursday, with rain and thunderstorms mainly confined to the north-eastern parts of the country. The South African Weather Service has issued no impact-based severe weather warnings, fire danger warnings, or advisories for Thursday. Rainfall is expected mainly over Limpopo, Mpumalanga, northern KwaZulu-Natal, and parts of North West and Gauteng.
The north-east of the country can expect significant rainfall, with Limpopo being cloudy and cool, and having a 30% chance of isolated showers and thundershowers. Mpumalanga will also be cloudy and cool, with a similar chance of isolated showers and thundershowers across most of the province. However, the extreme western parts are expected to remain dry.
KwaZulu-Natal will experience morning fog over the interior before partly cloudy and cool to cold conditions set in. The north-east of the province can expect a 60% chance of scattered showers and rain, while rainfall chances decrease farther inland. North West will be partly cloudy and cool, becoming cloudy in the north, with a 30% chance of isolated showers and rain forecast for the north-east.
Gauteng will have a cloudy and cool to cold start to Thursday, with a 30% chance of isolated showers and thundershowers over the extreme north during the early part of the day. The province is expected to become partly cloudy as conditions improve. The UVB sunburn index will be moderate. In contrast, the Free State is expected to remain dry, with fine to partly cloudy and cool conditions.
A sharp contrast is expected in the Western Cape, where temperatures will climb significantly across the interior. Morning fog and cloudy, cool conditions are forecast along the west and south-west coasts, but the rest of the province will be fine and warm to hot. Very hot conditions are expected in places over the southern interior.
Strong north-westerly winds are forecast along the south-west coast and in places along the south coast of the Western Cape. The UVB sunburn index will be very high in the province. The Northern Cape will have morning fog along the coast, with fine, windy, and cool to warm conditions elsewhere. The north-east will become partly cloudy.
The Eastern Cape is expected to remain largely dry, with morning fog possible south of the escarpment in the western half before fine and warm conditions develop. The eastern half of the province will be fine and warm throughout the day, with fresh to strong north-easterly winds expected along the coast of the eastern half.
Key points
- Rain and thunderstorms are forecast over parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, North West, and KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday.
- The Western Cape is expected to experience hot to very hot conditions, with very high UVB sunburn index.
- No impact-based severe weather warnings, fire danger warnings, or advisories have been issued for Thursday.
