It’s officially spring and the festive season will soon be upon us‚ but that didn’t stop Mother Nature from sending a chill through central parts of the country on Wednesday.

Snow fell over the Drakensberg mountains in the early hours of the morning and was expected to continue throughout the day‚ but the SA Weather Service says there is no need to brave the chilly weather for much longer.

There were also reports of snow in Lesotho.

Snow Report SA’s Rob Ansell said that the snow had started falling in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the central Drakensberg.

“We are expecting the light snowfall to continue falling on and off throughout today and into the evening. By morning we are expecting all-clear skies and for the snowfall to cease‚” said Ansell.

He said the majority of the snow had fallen in the Champagne Castle area and was about 4cm to 5cm deep.

Meanwhile‚ the South African Weather Service said that temperatures were expected to rise in the province.

“KZN will not experience the same cold weather [towards the weekend]. The system that resulted in that snow and the cold weather has exited the country and we see temperatures recovering significantly into the weekend‚” said the weather service.

Snow had also fallen on the Winterberg and Sneeuberg mountaintops in the Eastern Cape earlier in the week‚ but temperatures were expected to rise there as well.