Severe weather warning escalates to level 4 in South Africa
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a yellow level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms in the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal for Monday, 19 October.
This weather warning has been escalated from a yellow level 2 to a yellow level 4.
SAWS predicts widespread thunder showers across the province, with thunderstorms over the southern parts.
The weather service warned that these thunderstorms could become severe and be accompanied by heavy rain, with a possibility of hail and excessive lightning.
The SAWS has predicted a low likelihood that this weather could lead to significant impacts in parts of the KwaZulu-Natal province.
The weather service has indicated that the potential impacts of the thunderstorms include flooding of settlements, roads, and bridges, as well as damage to property and infrastructure.
It also predicted danger to life from fast-flowing streams and deep water, displacement of affected communities, and poor driving conditions.
In addition, the SAWS issued a yellow level 2 warning for damaging winds in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
The SAWS predicted strong southerly to south-westerly wind gusts of up to 45 knots, which is equivalent to around 83.3 km/h, along the interior and coast of KwaZulu-Natal today and over the north coast tomorrow morning.
The predicted impacts of the damaging winds are localised disruption to small harbours and ports for a short period, and difficulty with navigation, such as disrupted progress due to strong winds.
The SAWS warned that due to these winds, small vessels are at risk of taking on water and capsizing.
Other impacts include localised disruptions to activities on beachfronts, localised damage to settlements, both formal and informal, and localised problems for high-sided vehicles on prone routes.
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