Wednesday’s weather: Heavy rains, strong winds and fire danger

Severe thunderstorms and hail are expected in parts of Gauteng, the North West and Limpopo on Wednesday, 30 September, with strong coastal winds set to cause disruptions in the Eastern Cape.

Here is what to expect tomorrow, according to the South African Weather Service (Saws).

Weather warnings for 30 September 2026

Impact-based warnings

The weather service has issued a yellow level 2 warning for severe thunderstorms in Gauteng, the central to eastern parts of North West, and the central to western parts of Limpopo.

Expect heavy downpours, strong damaging winds, hail and excessive lightning, resulting in localised flooding of susceptible roads, low-lying areas and bridges and localised damage to settlements and infrastructure.

Saws has also issued a yellow level 2 warning for damaging winds resulting in localised damage to settlements, disruption to beach front activities and difficulty in navigation in the Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City, Ndlambe, Nqgushwa and Sunday’s River Valley Municipalities in the Eastern Cape.

Fire danger warnings

Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the Matzikama, Cederberg, Bergrivier Municipalities in the Western Cape and Kamiesberg Municipality in the Northern Cape.

Advisories

Expect extremely hot and uncomfortable conditions over Kamiesberg Municipality.

Weather outlook for Wednesday & Thursday: 30 September-01 October 2026.
Cloudy & cold conditions are expected in the east. Otherwise, partly cloudy & cool, with isolated to scattered rain & thunderstorms possible over eastern parts of the RSA. #saws #weatheroutlook pic.twitter.com/nXEqn9G5lw

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic)

September 28, 2026

Provincial weather forecast

Here’s what to expect in your province on 30 September:

Gauteng:

It will be cloudy and cold with scattered showers and thundershowers.

Mpumalanga:

Expect a cloudy and cold to very cold day with scattered showers and thundershowers.

Limpopo:

It will be cloudy and cold with scattered showers and thundershowers.

North West:

Cloudy, windy and cold to cool weather awaits, becoming partly cloudy with scattered showers and thundershowers.

Free State:

Expect cloudy skies in the east at first; otherwise, it will be partly cloudy, windy and cold to cool with isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers, except over the southeastern parts.

Northern Cape:

It will be partly cloudy in the northeast, where isolated showers and thundershowers are expected. Otherwise, it will be a fine, windy and cool to warm day with morning fog patches expected along the coast.

Western Cape:

Partly cloudy skies are expected over the eastern parts in the morning; otherwise, it will be fine and warm to hot but very hot over the West Coast District.

The region’s expected UVB sunburn index is “very high”.

Residents should take the necessary precautions against prolonged sun exposure.

Eastern Cape (western half):

It will be partly cloudy in the south at first; otherwise, expect a fine and cool to warm day. It will be windy in places along the coast.

Eastern Cape (eastern half):

Expect cloudy conditions along the coast at first with rain to the east of Kei River. Otherwise, it will be a fine and cool day.

KwaZulu-Natal:

There will be morning fog patches over the interior; otherwise, it will be cloudy and cool to cold with isolated showers and rain.