Snow incoming for South Africa and Lesotho from Wednesday - disruptive snowfall warning issued

By Staff Writer
Published: 27 May 2026 [updated 2 June]

This forecast covers: Wed 03 Jun – Sat 06 Jun


Snowfall is possible from late Wednesday evening through to the early hours of Saturday morning as per the map, with more then 10cm indicated for parts of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, the Drakensberg and Lesotho.

Note the zoomed-in maps at the bottom of this page that show more detail.

The SA Weather Service have advised that an intense cut off low is expected to affect the Eastern Cape from Wednesday bringing a combination of snow, heavy rain, flooding, very cold conditions and very rough seas – warnings have been issued (see link below).

While the lighter snowfall for the Western Cape and Northern Cape is indicated from Wednesday, the main snowfall period is currently indicated from early Thursday and into Friday.

The SA Weather Service has already issued a level 2 warning for disruptive snow leading to icy roads resulting in traffic disruptions is expected over the northern high-lying areas in the Eastern Cape on Thursday.

In Lesotho snow is currently indicated for much of the country, including Maseru. Heavy snowfall is currently indicated as per the map, with over 25cm in some areas.

In South Africa snow is currently indicated in the Western Cape high-ground around Beaufort West and Murraysburg, as well as a dusting on the peaks around Paarl, Franschhoek, Worcester, Wellington, Ceres, De Doorns and on the Swartberg near Ladismith, Calitzdorp, Outdtshoorn, De Rust, Prince Albert and Uniondale.

Snow is also indicated around Sutherland, Fraserburg, Richmond, Nouport and other areas marked on the maps in the Northern Cape.

In the Eastern Cape significant low-level snow is currently indicated around places such Middelburg, Nieu-Bethesda, Graaff-Reinet, Cradock, Queenstown, Hogsback, Molteno, Jamestown, Dordrecht, Barkly East, Rhodes, Lady Grey, Khowa (Elliot), Ugie, Maclear, Tlokoeng (Mount Fletcher), Matatiele and smaller settlements as per the map. The possible heavier snowfall (10cm+) for this region is marked in purple on the map and the heaviest snowfall can be expected from later in the day on Thursday.

The Free State is also showing up for possible snowfall around Clarens, Ficksburg, Fouriesburg, Harrismith, Bethlehem and Bloemfontein.

Lower-level snow is on the radar for KwaZulu-Natal, including around Karkloof and lower down Sani Pass with Underberg, Himeville, Swartberg, Kokstad, Bergville and Winterton now being possible again.

SEE ALSO: Cut-off low – disruptive rain, flooding, snow, damaging wind and waves this week.

The N3 between Johannesburg and Durban around Van Reenen should be ok, but lower-level snow is now indicated again closer to the Drakensberg so we will be monitoring the data closely for changes.

Snow is no longer indicated for Mpumalanga.

ALSO READ: Be prepared for safe winter travel and snow chasing trips.

SEE ALSO: Widespread snow fell in South Africa and Lesotho this week. Click here for photos.


The map indicates where we are seeing the possibility of snow, but it may not fall in all of the areas shown on the map. As with any forecast of any kind (temperature, clouds, rain, wind), what eventually happens may or may not be similar to the forecast. Snow indicated may reduce or vanish completely in some areas, or the dates and times may change.


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