The above image is a photograph I managed to take earlier this year showing an example of these Undulatus Asperatus near Cape Town.

To quote wikipedia:

"Undulatus asperatus (or alternately, asperatus) is a rare, newly recognized cloud formation, that was proposed in 2009 as the first cloud formation added since cirrus intortus in 1951 to the International Cloud Atlas of the World Meteorological Organization. The name translates approximately as roughened or agitated waves.

Margaret LeMone, a cloud expert with the National Center for Atmospheric Research has taken photos of asperatus clouds for 30 years, and considers it a likely new cloud type.On June 20, 2006 Jane Wiggins took a picture of asperatus clouds from the window of a downtown office building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 2009 Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, came across the image and began working through the Royal Meteorological Society to promote the cloud type.Wiggins' photograph was posted on the National Geographic website on June 4, 2009."

For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undulatus_asperatus

Source: News24.com

Johannesburg - Klerksdorp has for the second time this year been hit by powerful thunderstorms, causing millions of rands of damage.

Roofs were ripped off houses in less than an hour, homes flooded and gardens devastated by a violent hailstorm late on Tuesday afternoon.

Large parts of the city looked like they were under snow, as hail lay up to 20cm deep in places.

Some of the northern suburbs were without power for a while and the N12 highway was temporarily closed after branches and hail covered the road.

The worst damage was in La Hoff, Doringkruin, Wilkoppies, Flamwood, the city centre, extension 10 of Jouberton (near Klerksdorp) and extension 8 of Kanana (near Orkney).

Hospitals flooded

"Three hospitals - the Klerksdorp provincial hospital, the Tshepong hospital in Jouberton and the Sunningdale hospital in Wilkoppies - sustained water damage but patients were not removed," said provincial police spokesperson, Superintendent Lesego Metsi.

He said no one was injured or killed in the storm.

"The rain wasn't as bad as the hail," said Tommy Deysel of the Matlosana municipality's department for disaster management.

"People were inconvenienced, but it was definitely not a disaster. We are continuously monitoring the situation."

"People should report damages to their ward council member or ward committee members and I will afterwards submit a complete report to the municipality."

Trail of devastation

Beeld followed the trail of devastation caused by the storm. At Autorama, a used car dealer, the roof collapsed and two cars were slightly damaged. Mr Price and Mr Price Home near the Pick n Pay Hypermarket sustained serious water damage, but were open for business as usual.

At some shops in the Wilkoppies area, notices were stuck up in windows to inform customers that shops were closed due to storm damage.

Klerksdorp and surrounding areas were hit hard by storms in January. Parts of the Kosh area (Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein and Hartbeesfontein) where then declared disaster areas.

-Beeld

Spring seems to finally be in full swing as the end of September nears, thundershowers have been present over the northern parts of the country in typical summer rainfall fashion. There were strong thunderstorms present over parts of Gauteng yesterday the 28th September and heavy rains even caused several road closured in the Pretoria area. A cold snap which hit Cape Town and surrounding areas over the weekend has now passed and a week of warm temperatures in the mid-20s are forecast as a high pressure system keeps things dry for a bit.

The next focus is a strong trough forecast to developing late in the week and move eastwards. The GFS has been inconsistent in the placement of the trough- at times bringing it as far south as Cape Town where it was showing possible thundershowers for Saturday. As it stands at present though, the trough will not reach that far south and rainfall should be confined to the central interior. Though this can change and there is still some hope for something exciting this weekend in Cape Town as temperatures as forecast to reach the upper 20s.

Hurricane season in the Atlantic is soon coming to a close and we have just passed the peak activity area with very little to talk about. Definitely a boring season which has seen no landfalling systems. There is still about a month for something to happen but it's looking like a far below average season.

And on the topic of international news, Storm Chasers Season 3 will air in the United States next month. And will likely air on South African television in a few months time. Don't miss it on Discovery Channel when it does air.

While the northern parts have begun to feel the beginning of spring with temperatures in the upper 30s in KZN and a few thunderstorms in the Gauteng area the GFS is showing a classic summer rainfall pattern near the end of the latest run. The 16 day GFS forecast is predicting an area of heavy rains in excess of 40mm in 6 hours for parts of north central South Africa. The origin of these rains appears to be a classic deep trough which is descend down from the north of central Africa.