Cradock Peak capped with snow

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GEORGE NEWS - Georgians saw Cradock Peak snow-capped for the first time in years thanks to the icy spell at the weekend. According to George Herald's records, the last time snow fell on the Outeniqua mountain was in 2017.

The cold weather brought snow to large parts of the country with especially heavy falls in parts of the Western and Eastern Cape.

The South African Weather Services said minimum temperatures of between 5°C and 8°C were recorded in George over the weekend. We received a total of 53,6mm from Thursday to Saturday, 6 to 8 September (17mm on Thursday, 25,8mm on Friday and 10,8mm on Saturday), before the weather started clearing up.

The rain was not enough to make a big impact on the water level of the dam, which had dropped to below 70% in the past few weeks. Run-off from the catchment areas and melting snow are however expected to up the level to some extent.

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Welcome heavy rains also fell in some drought-stricken areas. The Langkloof was reported to have received up to 355mm of rain in places, which was more than they had received in the whole of last year. The SA Weather Service recorded between 73mm and 134,8mm of rain in the Avontuur area and 98,8mm in Uniondale. Areas in the Southern Cape receiving rainfall of 100mm and more were Tsitsikamma, Plettenberg Bay, Knysna and Joubertina.

Swartberge afgeneem deur Elaine van der Toorn.

The Swartberg Pass between Oudtshoorn and Prins Albert was closed due to snow, but motorists still ventured over the pass. Potjiesberg Pass near Uniondale, Lootsberg Pass on the N2 between Middelburg and Graaff Reinet and Wapadsberg Pass between Cradock en Graaff Reinet were also closed due to snow.

Foto: André Roux