MEDIA RELEASE *A SPELL OF EXTREME WINTER WEATHER STARTING THIS WEEKEND, WITH SNOWFALLS POSSIBLE OVER ALL PROVINCES, EXCEPT LIMPOPO* 5 JUNE 2025 In the coming days, a particularly intense Cut-Off low (COL) system, associated with severe and extreme winter weather, is expected to affect South Africa, persisting over the country until at least the middle of next week over the eastern provinces. Early on Saturday morning, 7 June 2025, this system will begin affecting the Western and Northern Cape. By Monday, 9 June 2025 and Tuesday, 10 June 2025 this extensive and severe winter weather system will have shifted further east over South Africa, affecting the central and eastern provinces. A significant and dramatic drop in daytime temperatures can be expected over all provinces, with the possible exception of Limpopo. Consequently, farmers of small stock are strongly advised to implement appropriate measures to prevent stock losses due to exposure to bitter cold and wind. Some of the more extreme weather impacts associated with this system include the following: • Snowfalls over almost every province, with the exception of Limpopo. Some of these snowfalls will be disruptive, affecting traffic flow over mountain passes (for example, the N3 highway at Van Reenen’s pass on Monday, 9 June 2025 and Tuesday, 10 June 2025) • Strong, damaging surface winds over large parts of the interior provinces from Sunday, leading to an elevated risk of wildfires, especially over the central and eastern interior, ahead of the cold change. These extreme conditions are expected to persist over some of the eastern provinces until Wednesday. • Strong to near-gale force coastal winds and very rough seas from Friday along the south-west coast, spreading to the south and east coasts during Saturday, and lasting until at least Tuesday along the east coast. • Heavy rainfall leading to localised flooding and infrastructure damage over parts of the Eastern Cape coast and adjacent interior on Sunday, shifting to southern KwaZulu-Natal on Monday. • Bitterly cold daytime conditions over many provinces from Sunday, with maximum temperatures unlikely to exceed +10 C. These conditions will be exacerbated by strong, gusty winds. • There is also a risk of severe thunderstorms; possibly associated with damaging hail and/or damaging winds over some provinces, including North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal during Monday and Tuesday. For the thousands of runners participating in the Comrades 2025 ultramarathon on Sunday, 8 June 2025 from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, the South African Weather Service expects predominantly mild to warm and windy conditions, with partly cloudy to cloudy skies. However, runners should be aware of a cool change in the weather, later in the day, when a coastal low and cold front are expected to move northwards up the KwaZulu-Natal coast, introducing colder, more moist conditions to the coast and adjacent interior. Moreover, there will be a risk of showers or thunderstorms developing over the Drakensberg, spreading to the coast in the evening. Given the intensity of the COL system, there is a low probability that Gauteng and the highveld region of Mpumalanga may experience light snowfalls Monday night, 9 June 2025, extending into Tuesday, 10 June 2025. However at this stage there is significant uncertainty amongst the various numeric weather prediction models in this regard. The South African Weather Service will continue to monitor any further developments relating to the expected weather systems and will issue subsequent updates as required. Furthermore, intermediate updates may be followed on X (@SAWeatherServic), Facebook (South African Weather Service) or other SAWS-supported social media platforms. Compiled by: Kevin Rae Edited by: Ezekiel Sebego and Hannelee Doubell Approved by: Rudzani Malala For technical and weather enquiries: National Forecasting Centre: Tel: 012 367 6041