SA braces for fierce storms with strong winds and excessive lightning expected

Get daily updates on temperatures, winds and UVB levels, and see what the SA Weather Service predicts for the country.

Here’s the weather outlook for South Africa’s nine provinces.

SAWS has issued Level 2 and Level 1 yellow alerts, warning communities about intense thunderstorms forecast for parts of South Africa. These systems could produce heavy rain, flooding, hail, powerful wind gusts and excessive lightning.

SEVERE WEATHER ALERTS

IMPACT-BASED WARNINGS

A. Yellow Level 2 Warning: Severe thunderstorms leading to localised damages to infrastructure, property, vehicles, and injuries (livelihood and livestock) due to hail, damaging winds, heavy downpours and excessive lightning, are expected over the eastern North-West, Gauteng, western Mpumalanga and south-western regions of Limpopo.

B: Yellow Level 1 Warning: Severe thunderstorms leading to localised damages to infrastructure, property, vehicles, and injuries (livelihood and livestock) due to hail, damaging winds, heavy downpours and excessive lightning, are expected over the north-eastern regions of KwaZulu-Natal.

FIRE DANGER WARNINGS

Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the north central parts of the Northern Cape.

ADVISORIES

Hot to very hot and uncomfortable conditions are expected over the Kamiesberg Local Municipality in the Northern Cape, as well as over the West Coast District in the Western Cape until Thursday (04/12/2025), but only on Thursday over the Cape Winelands, Little Karoo, as well as western parts of Central Karoo District.

Weather conditions and UVB forecast in South Africa’s provinces

Gauteng

Gauteng can expect partly cloudy and cool to warm with scattered showers and thundershowers from the afternoon.

The expected UVB Sunburn Index is High

Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga, the Place of the Rising Sun, can expect partly cloudy and cool to warm with scattered showers and thundershowers.

Limpopo

In Limpopo, partly cloudy and warm with scattered showers and thundershowers.

North West

North West, known as Bokone Bophirima in Setswana, can expect partly cloudy and hot with scattered afternoon showers and thundershowers.

Free State

In Free State, morning fog patches in the east where it will be cloudy, otherwise partly cloudy and cool to warm, with isolated showers and thundershowers in the north.

Northern Cape

The day will start partly cloudy in the extreme east, otherwise fine and warm to hot but very hot in the north central. Wind along the coast will be fresh to strong southerly to south-easterly.

Western Cape

Partly cloudy with isolated showers and rain over the extreme south-eastern parts in the morning, otherwise fine and hot to very hot but cool to warm in places over the southern parts. Wind along the coast will be fresh to strong southerly to south-easterly, becoming fresh easterly to north-easterly along the south-coast in the evening.

The expected UVB sunburn index is Extreme.

Eastern Cape

The Western half: Cloudy in the morning, otherwise fine and cool. Wind along the coast will be light to moderate southerly to south-westerly.

The Eastern half: The day will start partly cloudy and cool with light rain south of the escarpment, but cloudy along the Wild Coast. Wind along the coast will be moderate southerly to south- westerly.

KwaZulu-Natal

Partly cloudy in the extreme west, otherwise cloudy and cool to cold with scattered showers and thundershowers, but widespread in the east. The wind along the coast will be light to moderate southerly to south-easterly.

The expected UVB Sunburn Index is Low

Forecast data provided by the South African Weather Service.