Wet weekend on cards for Nelson Mandela Bay

Parts of Nelson Mandela Bay, and some of its main water supply dams, received some much-needed rain on Thursday and Friday, and weather predictions show more wet weather can be expected over the weekend.

However, while some places on the outskirts of the metro recorded as much as 25mm of rain, it will not do much to mitigate the city’s ongoing water crisis.

According to the latest figures from the SA Weather Service (SAWS), a number of measuring stations recorded double figures over the last two days.

Woodridge, along the N2 towards Humansdorp, measured more than 25mm, while the nearby Van Stadens Flower Reserve received just shy of 18mm.

In Gqeberha, about 15mm of rain fell at the airport, while the Chetty dip measured 12mm.

The Kareedouw region, part of the water catchment for the Churchill and Impofu dams, measured between 18mm and 26mm in different locations.

“While we welcome every drop of rain, this does not mean much for the dam levels.

“As we’ve said before, we need at least 50mm in the catchment areas for there to be any significant change at our dams,” national weather service spokesperson Garth Sampson said.

More rain is expected over the weekend, with as much as 10mm predicted in places in Nelson Mandela Bay on Saturday.

As the coming week progresses, the possibility of rain will dwindle, while temperatures are expected to stay in the mid to high teens.

The Bay’s catchment areas, the surroundings of the Kouga and Churchill dams, are expected to follow a similar pattern, but with slightly colder temperatures.

HeraldLIVE