A sprawling high-impact weather system brings severe thunderstorms, disruptive rainfall, and damaging winds across South Africa on Friday, September 4, 2026. Multiple weather services issue urgent warnings for flooding, gale-force coastal winds, and snow on higher ground as an intense cut-off low pressure system sweeps the country.
South Africa faces a turbulent end to the week as an intense cut-off low pressure system drives severe weather across multiple provinces. The South African Weather Service issued a dense cluster of warnings, highlighted by an Orange Level 5 alert for severe thunderstorms over the east-central parts of the Northern Cape according to meteorological forecasts. The widespread system brings the threat of localized flooding, damaging winds, large hail, and dangerous travel conditions to communities from the interior to the coast.
An intense cut-off low (COL) pressure system is expected to result in significant weather impacts from Thursday this week, with the forecast covering Friday, September 4, 2026. South Africa is in for a cold, wet and unsettled Friday, with widespread showers and thundershowers expected across several provinces and a number of severe weather warnings in place.
Severe thunderstorms, flooding and damaging winds set to lash
Orange Level 5 Warnings and Severe Storms in the Northern Cape
The most severe conditions concentrate over the east-central parts of the Northern Cape. Heavy downpours threaten to inundate formal and informal settlements, roads, and bridges, while wind and hail damages to structures, falling trees, and disruption to municipal services due to excessive lightning are expected. Rainfall coverage in the affected areas could reach 80%.
Surrounding regions face substantial disruptions of their own. A Yellow Level 4 severe thunderstorm warning stretches across the central and eastern Northern Cape, western parts of the Free State, the extreme western parts of North West, as well as the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal, leading to localized flooding of susceptible low-lying areas, roads and bridges, and wind and hail damages to structures, falling trees and disruption to municipal services due to excessive lightning. These areas could experience localised flooding, damaging winds, hail, falling trees and frequent lightning, with between 60% and 80% chances of rain, with the highest probabilities over the central interior.
Travel Hazards and Provincial Breakdown Across the Interior
Nine warnings including a LEVEL 5 for severe thunderstorms
The Free State and North West will be particularly cloudy, windy and cool to cold, with scattered to widespread showers and thundershowers.
Gauteng will start partly cloudy before becoming cloudy and cool to warm, with scattered showers and thundershowers. There is a 60% chance of rain in places, and residents should be alert for lightning, gusty winds and localised downpours.
Mpumalanga will have cloudy conditions, becoming cloudy from the south during the afternoon, with isolated showers and thundershowers expected, becoming scattered in the south-west, and the chance of rain ranging from about 30% in the north to 60% in the more affected southern areas. It will be warm, becoming hot in places over the Lowveld.
East coast severe weather
Limpopo will be partly cloudy and warm to hot, with isolated showers and thundershowers before cloud increases. Very cold conditions are expected in places over Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi district municipalities of the Eastern Cape, while very cold, wet and windy conditions can be expected in places over the Namakwa in the Northern Cape and the interior of the Western Cape. Snow is also on the radar for South Africa and Lesotho from Thursday.
Coastal Gales and Hazardous Marine Warnings
Wet and windy conditions are expected over most parts of KwaZulu-Natal. A Level 4 warning for damaging winds leads to interruptions to power, communication and/or other utilities and services, damage to settlement, injuries and danger to life from flying debris, and problems for high-sided vehicles on prone routes due to cross winds over the western parts of Northern Cape, the central and north-eastern parts of Western Cape, as well as most parts of KwaZulu-Natal with the exception of the south-west. Additionally, a Level 4 warning for damaging wind and waves leads to disruption of ports and harbours and danger to navigation at sea between Alexander Bay and Plettenberg Bay.
