Track SA’s ‘massive cold front’ with this tool

If you want to see more than a Google weather report for South Africa’s incoming cold front, you can track detailed aspects of the storm with Ventusky.

The web app lets you track precipitation, temperature, wind speed, thunderstorms, and more. Rather than just numbers, the tool visualises these different factors on a map.

You can even adjust time frames to track the storm’s progress over the day. Ventusky has also added a satellite view feature for a more realistic image of conditions.

South Africa is bracing for a major cold front that hits the country on 9 July. Strong winds have already arrived, with cold and rain expected to follow.

The front will bring gale-force winds, heavy rain, and very cold weather for several days according to the South African Weather Service. The service also expects flooding in certain parts of the country, especially in the Western Cape.

⚠️Media Release⚠️: Bitterly cold, wet and windy weather expected over parts of South Africa over the next few days. Gale force winds, heavy rain, snow, and very cold conditions will be imminent from Thursday (09 July 2020) as 2 #ColdFronts make landfall. pic.twitter.com/0ryKNSUlpr

— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) July 8, 2020

Load shedding risk during cold front

While South Africans are urged to keep warm, the risk of load shedding presents an additional challenge during the cold front.

Eskom issued a notice on 8 July that the system remains constrained due to issues at several power stations units.

#POWERALERT 1
8 July 2020

Eskom urges the public to reduce electricity usage as the generation system remains constrained pic.twitter.com/LHMkhhDzwn

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) July 8, 2020

Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal disaster management teams are on high alert due to the weather. According to The Mercury, the province may see flooding — especially in low-lying areas.

You can see more sites and apps in our feature on tools to track storms.

Feature image: Screenshot