A significant storm system, bringing the potential for a hailstorm, is moving towards the Howick, Pietermaritzburg, and Hillcrest areas.
Watch: Hailstorm rattles Pietermaritzburg
PLEASE NOTE: The third-party content below is shared on our platform for journalistic purposes. Swisher Post, its parent company, partners and affiliates shall not be held liable for any consequence that arises from the journalistic duties performed in sharing this content.
Residents of Howick, Pietermaritzburg, and Hillcrest braced for a major storm system exacerbated by a hailstorm.
This system, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) explained, is part of a larger weather pattern affecting various parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, with isolated thundershowers predicted.
The forecast for the evening of Sunday, 3 December 2023, indicates isolated thundershowers, with scattered showers and thundershowers expected to spread over the eastern parts of the Eastern Cape and into the southern parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
This weather activity is anticipated to intensify as the night progresses.
Looking ahead to Monday, 4 December 2023, isolated thundershowers are forecasted over the central and south-eastern interior, spreading along the escarpment of Mpumalanga.
The weather is expected to become more scattered along the Wild Coast and into the central interior of KwaZulu-Natal, indicating a continuation of the unstable weather patterns.
How do hailstorms form?
Hailstorms are a result of specific atmospheric conditions. Hailstones form when raindrops are carried upward by thunderstorm updrafts into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere, where they freeze.
The hailstones grow as they collide with liquid water drops, which then freeze onto the hailstone’s surface, causing them to increase in size and density.