A level 9 orange warning was issued by the South African Weather Service for the Western Cape before heavy rain that moved over the country at the weekend. This is due to a cut-off low system that intensified on Sunday, leading to widespread thunderstorms and strong winds. More than 100mm of rain was due to fall in 24 hours. Gale-force winds were also expected to affect the western coast on Monday, possibly leading to storm surges. Temperatures were forecast to drop as this system passes over, falling up to 10-15C below the seasonal average.
After the devastation caused by Storm Daniel in Greece at the start of the month, Greece is expecting yet more heavy rain later this week. Greece’s Hellenic National Meteorological Service has put out an adverse warning for rain starting on Monday, with the heaviest and most widespread downpours expected on Wednesday. These heavy rains will affect western, central and northern regions, and could lead to some localised flooding, and perhaps trigger landslides. It follows a weekend of high temperatures in the region, with peaks in the high 30Cs.
Eastern Australia has been subjected to heatwaves over the past few weeks as it heads into spring. A strong area of high pressure trapped warm air over the region, which allowed temperatures to rise to heatwave levels. Average maximum air temperatures for the region at this time of year are about 20C, but many locations recorded temperatures in excess of 30C on several consecutive days. Some areas had maximum temperatures up to 18C above average, with several September temperature records broken including 36C at Sydney airport. Observatory Hill, Sydney’s oldest weather station established in 1858, matched its previous September record with 34.6C.
Consequentially there is now a significant risk of wildfires across south-eastern states, with about 70 wildfires reported in the state of New South Wales alone.
Although temperatures have returned to normal across eastern states, high temperatures are expected in Western Australia over the coming days, reaching the mid-to-high 30s. The state capital of Perth is expected to experience maximum temperatures in the low 30s, which is about 10C above the seasonal norm.
