A powerful winter storm is sweeping across South Africa, bringing bitter cold, snow and flooding to several provinces. The Eastern Cape is hardest hit, with an Orange Level 9 warning issued for severe disruptive rain.
A powerful winter storm has swept across much of South Africa, bringing bitter cold, heavy rain, and snow to several provinces. The Eastern Cape is bearing the brunt, with the South African Weather Service (Saws) warning of a high risk of severe flooding, dangerous travel conditions, and closed roads.
What’s behind the severe weather? The culprit is a “cut-off low” — a weather system where very cold air becomes trapped and spins above the country, separated from the usual westerly winds.
Meteorologist Annette Botha from Vox Weather explains that this system is unusually deep, stretching from the upper atmosphere all the way to the ground — a setup more common in winter, and one that brings especially intense cold, rain, and snow.
