Hurricanes On Our Doorstep Now

Okay, hereabouts they're referred euphemistically as 'cyclones'. It makes them sound like a wind trainer, or some sort of bicycle equipped with a parachute. No, they're just as nasty as hurricanes, and just as vigorous as typhoons. They do dance to a different tune, spinning in a different direction to northern hemisphere cousins.

Here's more: Weather wreaks havoc in Durban

Killer storm

Two dead in Joburg, southern Cape flooded — and more rain to come

Freak weather yesterday killed two people in Johannesburg and large parts of the southern Cape were devastated by floods.

Torrential storms dumped more than 200mm of rain in 24 hours, washing away roads and flooding homes and farms from Hermanus to George.

Full story here.

NVDL: I did post a weather warning on this blog yesterday, warning of some extreme weather in both the effected sites. I reckon in the future we will be watching the weather forecasts like a hawk. It will no longer be a matter of nice-to-know, but very often, critical information.

At 4pm yesterday the sky suddenly turned quite black, deju vu, a rerun based on the previous week's sudden storm. I went home at about 6:30pm (the sky had lightened up a lot by then)and found a tree about 100m from where I live blocking most of the road. Was just able to squeeze past. I dunno, think the climate could be changing? Do you really think it could be? DOH!

Joburg Storm Fells Trees, Chokes Cars

Heading back from the cycling Expo, we were caught in a violently fierce hailstorm. We knew when we emerged out of the building at around 16:30 and it looked like 18:30 that kak was in the air. Sure enough, when we pulled out of the underground parking, rain, then hail lashed us, quickly turning the roads into rivers. In a remarkably short space of time, trees came down, and cars stalled where they stood.

It is a strange conincidence that in Bloem around another cycling event (2 weeks ago)a storm approached sounding like an express train. It too was a hailstorm, but it was more remarkable not for its ferocity, but for its sudden onset.

Was there a warning? Yes there was, on Weathersa: National Warning - Issued on Friday, 16 November 2007 at 16.00

Weather conditions which may lead to the development and spread of runaway fires are expected in the southern areas of the West Coast District and Cape Town Metropole.
Thunderstorms in the eastern North-West Province, Gauteng and western and central Limpopo may become severe, with a risk of large hail and damaging winds.