SAWS has warned of severe thunderstorms and heavy rain, which may lead to localised flooding in parts of the North West, Free State and Northern Cape, with a warning of damaging waves in parts of the Eastern Cape coastline.
Roger de La Harpe/Biosphoto via AFP
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued warnings of severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, which may lead to localised flooding in parts of the North West, Free State and Northern Cape, while damaging waves may develop along the coastline in parts of the Eastern Cape.
The remainder of the country can expect cloudy, cool to cold weather with showers in parts.
Impact-based warnings
Yellow Level 2 warning: Severe thunderstorms with heavy downpours, leading to localised flooding and damage to susceptible formal/informal settlements and infrastructure, are expected over the western parts of the North West, the north-western parts of Free State, as well as the north-eastern parts of Northern Cape.
Weather forecast for today & tomorrow, 28 – 29 April 2026.
Partly cloudy & cool conditions are expected, with isolated to scattered showers & thundershowers possible over the central & eastern parts of RSA, as well as along the south coast today. #saws #weatheroutlook pic.twitter.com/2q0jLRoJZZ— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) April 28, 2026
Yellow Level 1 warning: Damaging waves resulting in localised disruption to small harbours or ports for a short period of time can be expected, with small vessels at risk of taking on water and capsizing in the area, and with difficulty in navigation expected between Port Edward and Kosi Bay.
In the SAWS’ colour-coded weather warning system, yellow indicates a moderate risk of impact that requires caution and awareness, while orange indicates that a higher-risk impact is expected, requiring increased attention and preparation. SAWS uses the numbers to indicate the likelihood of weather-based impacts occurring. Levels 2 and 6 are high, and Level 4 is low.
The weather in your province
Gauteng: Starting fine but becoming partly cloudy and cool and warm in northern areas. Expect isolated showers and thunderstorms later in the day.
Pretoria: 9°C – 23°C
Johannesburg: 7°C – 22°C
Vereeniging: 7°C – 21°C
Mpumalanga: Morning fog along the escarpment, then cloudy and cold to cool conditions with isolated showers and thunderstorms throughout the day.
Mbombela: 15°C – 18°C
Ermelo: 10°C – 19°C
Emalahleni: 11°C – 19°C
Standerton: 9°C – 20°C
Skukuza: 19°C – 21°C
Limpopo: Morning fog along the escarpment, followed by cloudy and cold to cool weather with isolated showers and thunderstorms. Western and central areas will clear to partly cloudy conditions by afternoon.
Polokwane: 13°C – 20°C
Phalaborwa: 17°C – 21°C
Tzaneen: 16°C – 19°C
Musina: 16°C – 24°C
Lephalale: 13°C – 26°C
Mokopane: 13°C – 23°C
North West: Partly cloudy and cool with scattered showers and thunderstorms in western parts, where severe weather is possible, and isolated storms elsewhere.
Klerksdorp: 5°C – 22°C
Potchefstroom: 5°C – 22°C
Mahikeng: 9°C – 21°C
Rustenburg: 9°C – 21°C
Vryburg: 6°C – 20°C
Free State: Morning fog patches in far eastern areas, otherwise starting fine and cool. Becoming partly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms, though eastern and southern areas will see fewer storms.
Bloemfontein: 1°C – 19°C
Welkom: 3°C – 21°C
Bethlehem: 3°C – 18°C
Northern Cape: Morning fog in the far south-west with cold conditions there. Otherwise, partly cloudy and cool to warm, with isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms in central and eastern parts. Western areas remain fine. Coastal winds will be moderate southerly to south-easterly, becoming fresh to strong by evening.
Upington: 6°C – 25°C
Kimberley: 3°C – 20°C
De Aar: 2°C – 17°C
Alexander Bay: 12°C – 26°C
Springbok: 11°C – 25°C
Calvinia: 4°C – 23°C
Sutherland: -1°C – 15°C
Western Cape: Morning fog patches over the Overberg and Cape Winelands Valley, otherwise fine and cool to warm conditions. Coastal winds will be light to moderate easterly to south-easterly, becoming fresh to strong along the west coast in the evening.
Cape Town: 12°C – 21°C
Vredendal: 9°C – 25°C
Riversdale: 6°C – 19°C
George: 9°C – 18°C
Worcester: 6°C – 21°C
Beaufort West: 3°C – 20°C
Oudtshoorn: 2°C – 20°C
Western half of the Eastern Cape: Starting partly cloudy along the coast, otherwise fine and cold conditions, though cooler along coastal areas. Coastal winds will be light westerly, changing to light south-easterly to easterly by evening.
Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Fine and cold weather, but cooler in places along the coast. Watch for morning frost in areas near the Free State border. Coastal winds will be light westerly, becoming light north-easterly overnight.
Gqeberha: 13°C – 21°C
Makhanda: 9°C – 20°C
Cradock: 2°C – 20°C
Graaff-Reinet: 1°C – 21°C
East London: 14°C – 23°C
Port St Johns: 9°C – 20°C
Mthatha: 3°C – 20°C
Komani: 0°C – 17°C
Qonce: 9°C – 21°C
KwaZulu-Natal: Fine conditions in the far south with morning and evening fog over the far north-western interior. Otherwise cloudy and cool, but cold in the far south-west, becoming partly cloudy from the afternoon with isolated showers and rain possible in the far north-west. Coastal winds will be moderate to fresh south-westerly, changing to light to moderate southerly to south-easterly from the afternoon, then light northerly to north-westerly in the south during the evening.
Durban: 15°C – 23°C
Richard’s Bay: 15°C – 24°C
Pietermaritzburg: 5°C – 20°C
Ladysmith: 7°C – 20°C
*This weather report was written with the support of Toqan AI.
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