Whip out the winter woollies for a cold‚ rainy weekend

Batten down the hatches and brace for cold‚ wet and windy weather pretty much everywhere in South Africa over the next few days‚ the SA Weather Service has warned.

Snow has also been forecast.

As the cold front makes its way across the country people should also make sure their pets are snuggled up.

Forecaster Wayne Venter said the cold snap would hit the eastern parts of the country on Friday. As the front sweeps across the country‚ it will bring heavy downpours and possibly hail in central South Africa. He said the cold would persist until Sunday.

“We have also warned of … localised flooding in some areas of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal‚” he said.

Venter said that a special advisory had been issued for very cold conditions with the possibility of snow in high lying areas of the northeastern part of the Eastern Cape and the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

On Sunday‚ the mercury will be between 6 and 16 degrees in Johannesburg‚ 2 and 16 degrees in Bloemfontein‚ and 11 and 23 degrees in Cape Town.

The NSPCA has appealed to people to take “extra precautions” for their animals over the next few days.

“The NSPCA urges animal owners to keep their pets indoors and ensure that their other animals that live outdoors have access to adequate shelter for protection against the cold and wet weather conditions. Animals should also be provided with sufficient bedding in such weather conditions.”

The eThekwini municipality and the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board lifted shark nets along the province’s coastline‚ resulting in many beaches being closed.