Your Area: what today’s storm warnings mean for the Vaal
Vereeniging and Meyerton are under a SAWS Yellow Level 2 storm warning from midday, and Sasolburg from 14:00. Here is what that means for water, power, roads and farming.
By Staff Reporter · Published
Place and hazard. SAWS’s Yellow Level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms covers Emfuleni (Vereeniging) and Midvaal (Meyerton) from 12:00 to 21:59 today, according to SAWS’s warnings data. Across the river, Metsimaholo (Sasolburg) is under the SAWS Free State office’s Yellow Level 2 warning from 14:00 to 21:59. That warning lists “localised and short term disruption to municipal services and voting activities/processes” among its expected impacts.
For Gauteng, SAWS lists the possible impacts as “damages to properties and settlements (formal and informal) due to wind and hail”, “flooding of low-water bridges, and susceptible settlements” and “disruption to power supply and communications”.
- What changed: the Vaal is under Yellow Level 2 storm warnings this afternoon, on the last day of special voting.
- Who is affected: residents near low-water bridges and in informal settlements, motorists, and special voters travelling this afternoon.
- What you can do: SAWS advises: “Seek safe shelter from hail and lightning. Drive carefully. Stay away from flooded areas.”
Rand Water has said it is restricting bulk supply to municipalities that exceed their allocations, and it has named Midvaal among them. Residents in parts of Midvaal, including Klipwater and Henley on Klip, have reported low pressure, according to a local newspaper, the Walkerville & Savanna City Times. Vaalweekblad has reported Rand Water’s figures: Midvaal uses an average of 39 million litres a day and must cut by seven million litres a day.
Sources: Engineering News; Vaalweekblad. Who to contact: Midvaal Local Municipality.
SAWS lists “disruption to power supply and communications” as a possible impact of the Gauteng storms. There was no load shedding as of 10:35, although Eskom’s targeted load reduction continues in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Source: SAWS; Eskom. Who to contact: your electricity supplier, Eskom or your municipality.
SAWS warns of “flooding of low-water bridges” in Gauteng and, for the Free State and North West warning, “localised flooding of susceptible roads and bridges” and “falling trees blocking minor roads”. We have not confirmed any storm-related road closures in the Vaal. We will add official reports here as they come in.
Source: SAWS. In an emergency, call 10111, or 112 from a mobile phone.
The Free State and North West warning lists “localised damage to infrastructure, settlements (informal), properties, vehicles and livelihood”. We have not confirmed any storm damage to farms in the Vaal.
Source: SAWS.
The Vaal forecast for Wednesday
| Place | Conditions | High / low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vereeniging | Fair | 30°C / 16°C | 0.0 mm |
| Vanderbijlpark | Partly cloudy | 30°C / 16°C | 0.0 mm |
| Sasolburg | Fair | 30°C / 16°C | 0.0 mm |
| Meyerton | Partly cloudy | 30°C / 16°C | 0.0 mm |
Nation Watch SA forecast data (MET Norway model, CC BY 4.0), updated 13:49 3 November. A model forecast, not a SAWS forecast or warning. How our forecasts work
More on today’s storms: Storm Live · Vaal weather hub
Forecasts mentioned
- Vereeniging 7-day forecast
- Vanderbijlpark 7-day forecast
- Sasolburg 7-day forecast
- Meyerton 7-day forecast
Official source: https://www.weathersa.co.za/
How we make our journalism: every article is checked, edited and approved by our Editor-in-Chief before publication, and SAWS is credited for every warning we report. See our editorial policy.
Spotted an error? Read our corrections policy.