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Living in Cape Town is an extreme sport. The weather is best described as wild and untame. It can turn from sunny skies to cloud cover and rain in the matter of minutes, forcing us all to come prepared with a jacket and umbrella, and a plan to take cover, even during summer.

The last few days have given new power to the Mother City’s nickname, ‘The Cape of Storms’. While Wednesday [September 30] started off warm and bright, a cold front took hold in the evening, bringing rain and a whipping cold wind to many parts of the country.

The iconic two blue heads on the Mouille Point Promenade did not survive the storm that lashed the area on Wednesday evening.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) recently issued a weather warning, explaining  a “spell of fairly active weather”  is already unfolding, driven primarily by the development of a steep upper trough over the western and south-western parts of the country. This will bring severe or extreme weather phenomena in the coming days.

“Over the Western Cape, cold, overcast and windy conditions with heavy rain and localised flooding will dominate the circulation pattern. Moreover, marine gales and high sea conditions will also affect much of the Western Cape coastline,” they warn.

According to Afriwx Southern Africa Weather, Rainfall & Storm Reports, there is even the possibility of snow throughout the country. “The rainfall you see on Wednesday through Friday across the central interior and though the Northern, Western and Eastern Cape into Western KwaZulu-Natal is largely expected to be snow and mixed rain/snow,” they write on their Facebook page.

Whenever anything big happens in the city, Capetonians do what they do best: make a joke of it. Locals have turned to social media to poke fun at the wind and rain that has dominated this week.

Picture: Liezel van der Westhuizen

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