Gale-force winds, rain heading for the Western Cape

It's time to haul out raincoats and winter woolies as an intense cold front is expected to bring rain, gale-force winds and rough seas overnight to the Western Cape.

Cape Town’s disaster risk management spokesperson, Charlotte Powell, said on Monday that the cold front would bring “very cold, wet and windy conditions” to the region on Tuesday.

“Gale-force north-westerly winds of between 65 and 80km/h have been forecast between Table Bay and Cape Agulhas from Tuesday morning, subsiding overnight into Wednesday,” she said.

“The most likely scenario [on Tuesday] would be heavy rain, leading to localised flooding.

“High seas with wave heights of 6m are expected between Cape Columbine and Cape Agulhas in the morning and could lead to a storm surge along the Atlantic seaboard and in False Bay.”

The South African Weather Service said that warm temperatures were expected in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal on Monday and Tuesday. Port Elizabeth and Mthatha were expected to hit 30°C on and Durban 27°C on Monday.

Johannesburg’s maximum temperature on Monday will be 24°C.

Capetonians were urged to contact the public emergency communication centre in the event of an emergency, by dialing 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone.