Stellenbosch locals should expect partly cloudy to sunny and cool weather conditions, with temperatures remaining in the high-teens to low 20s, this week.
This is according to the South African Weather Service (SAWS).
The weather forecast this week. Infographic: Rebecca Pitt
Two cold fronts are, however, expected to make a landfall, said Tshidi Mogale, weather correspondent from SAWS.
A weak cold front can be expected mid-day on Tuesday, 25 August, “resulting in cloudy and cold temperatures with light rain from the afternoon until the evening over the Cape Metropole, Overberg and Cape Winelands Districts, spreading along the south coast Tuesday night into Wednesday,” Mogale said.
A second cold front is expected to start at nightfall on Friday, 28 August until Saturday, 29 August, said Mogale.
According to Mogale, Friday’s cold front would result in cloudy conditions with light rain over the southwestern parts of the Western Cape, spreading to most parts of the province by Saturday morning, and clearing by the evening. No rain is expected on Sunday.
This week’s average temperature will be between a minimum of 5° and a maximum of 20°.
Same, same, but different
This comes after last week’s well-developed cold fronts, which resulted in lows of 3° in Stellenbosch on 17 August, said Mogale. That front resulted in cold air advected across parts of the country. This also resulted in significantly dropped freezing levels and snowfall over the mountainous areas, as seen on Jonkershoek and in Franschhoek on the weekend of 15 August.
According to Mogale, one thing that stands out for the 2020 winter season is that the country has experienced more snow-bearing weather systems in comparison to 2019.
However, Mogale did point out that generally, this year’s weather patterns have been similar to other previous winter seasons in the Western Cape.
This was also true for the average winter rainfall for the Western Cape this year, she said.
“To pinpoint Stellenbosch in detail, it has received an average of 222.8mm of rainfall for 2020 winter so far, which is slightly below the long term average (2010 to 2019) rainfall of 243mm,” said Mogale.
Similarly, this year’s average winter daytime temperatures (see graphic) of the Western Cape are also comparable to 2019 winter temperatures, Mogale said.
Average daytime temperatures for Stellenbosch, during winter 2019 and winter 2020. Infographic: Rebecca Pitt