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Rough Seas and Gale Force Winds
Written by Administrator   
Thursday, 14 May 2009 09:57

Model data continues with the depiction of a weekend of rough weather for parts of both the Western and Eastern Cape. Latest guidance is showing wind speeds reaching up to 40 knots at Cape Point, while remaining around 25-30 knots for Cape Town City and most other southern parts of the Western Cape. These strong winds look likely to effect more easterly areas come Sunday, with the latest Euro model showing up to 35ms winds impacting some of the coastal areas of the Eastern Cape. While the Euro does tend to over-forecast wind speeds at times it's highly possible that Gale Force wind speeds will be reached in the said location.

Another aspect on which the models are being aggressive on is the development of large swells in excess of 8 meters on Sunday, this is highly possible due to the vast amount of fetch caused by strong pressure gradient and the positioning of the system. I think it's likely that a warning will be issued by the South African Weather Service in the next 48 hours for both the swells and the possible gale force winds. 

Rainfall appears to be moderate with little risk of extremely heavy falls at present, though one should monitor the South African Weather Service for warnings over the next few days. Especially those with maritime interests.

Below - Synoptic chart showing the developing cold front to the far south west of South Africa.

 

 

synoptic chart

Last Updated on Thursday, 14 May 2009 10:22
 

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