Cape Town - As dam levels across the province continue to increase, the South African Weather Service (Saws) has issued an early warning for bad weather expected for the entire province later this week.
The warning is for damaging winds, disruptive rain and snow.
In their regular report, the provincial department of Local Government and Environmental Affairs said the latest average level for dams in the Western Cape is 79%, 10% more than exactly a year ago.
The department reported that the latest average level for dams providing water to the City of Cape Town is 98.9%. A year ago it stood at 88%.
As for the cold fronts reported by Saws, departmental spokesperson James-Brent Styan said: “These are expected to make landfall on Thursday with heavy rain predicted from Thursday afternoon, spreading over the entire province by the evening.
“Rainfall accumulation of up to 50mm can be expected over the south-western parts of the province which may lead to localised flooding from Thursday.”
Local Government and Environmental Affairs MEC Anton Bredell said the province’s disaster management centres were on standby and urged the public to take note of the latest weather warnings.
“The cold fronts that are moving into the province this week will bring a significant drop in temperatures on Friday and Saturday and which may lead to light to moderate snow falls over the high-lying areas. The weather is expected to clear up by Sunday.”
Urging members of the public to take precautions ahead of the bad weather predicted for later in the week, Bredell said: “Clear out drains and areas around dwellings to ensure water can run off quickly. Simple preparations ahead of time can make a tremendous difference.”