You aren’t imagining things if the last few mornings have been a little too cold for comfort. As cooler temperatures and rain move across the province, people in Gauteng are waking up to a taste of winter.
The South African Weather Service says that the change in the weather is a sign that late summer is slowly turning into autumn. They expect cold mornings strong winds, and scattered rain over the next few days.
For a lot of people who work in Joburg, it means getting their jackets out a little earlier than usual and getting ready for icy car windows before the sun comes up.
Cold mornings set the mood for the week.
Parts of Gauteng have already had strong winds and noticeably colder mornings since the weekend. Weather experts say these conditions will probably last for a few more days as cooler air moves into the northern parts of the country.
In the early morning, temperatures could drop a lot, especially in the southern parts of Johannesburg and towns like Vereeniging. Some places may even have icy windshields for drivers who leave before dawn.
Daytime temperatures will stay pretty mild, but the cold will be most noticeable at dawn and after sunset.
In some parts of the province, the lowest temperatures are expected to stay around 11°C for the next few days. This makes it feel like autumn has officially started.
Johannesburg and Pretoria Are Expecting Rain
Along with the colder air rain is also likely to fall.
Later this week, Johannesburg is likely to get rain. On Thursday there is about a 60% chance of showers. During the day temperatures may have a hard time getting above 20°C, which would make it one of the cooler days of the week.
The weather system will keep moving across the province, bringing rain that will last into the weekend.
The weather in Pretoria is expected to be the same The capital is likely to get rain on both Thursday and Friday with temperatures ranging from about 14°C in the morning to about 22°C in the afternoon.
A Story of Two Weather Patterns in South Africa
People in Gauteng are getting their coats and umbrellas ready but the story is very different in the western parts of the country.
Forecasters say that parts of South Africa’s western and southwestern regions could be very hot to extremely hot at the same time.
The weather service has said that a heatwave could happen after a short period of cooler weather earlier this month. A heatwave in weather terms happens when temperatures stay at least 5°C above the average high for the hottest month for three or more days in a row.
This difference shows how different South Africa’s weather can be at this time of year. As Gauteng gets closer to winter mornings may start to feel more like winter But in the Western Cape and nearby areas it may be very hot instead.
For now people in Gauteng should get ready for a colder wetter stretch of weather. This could be their first real sign that winter is getting closer.
