Disruptive snowfall in South Africa and Lesotho from Tuesday – warnings issued

By Staff Writer
Published: 23 July 2026 [updated 28 July]

This forecast covers: Tue 28 Jul – Thu 30 Jul


Snowfall is indicated for parts of the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho between Tuesday and Thursday, with more than 10cm currently indicated for many areas and more than 20cm for some hotspots and almost 40cm on the border near the Naude's Nek pass in the Eastern Cape.

The main snowfall period is from later in the day on Tuesday and right through Wednesday, with some snow still falling early on Thursday.

In the Eastern Cape snow is currently indicated at low-level in areas marked on the map such as Dordrecht, Molteno, Burgersdorp, Aliwal North, Barkly East, Lady Grey, Rhodes, Khowa (Elliot), Ugie, Maclear and Matatiele with heavier snow indicated for a number of areas as per the map.

Light snow is also indicated on the mountains around Nieu-Bethesda and Graaff-Reinet, Cradock and Seymour in the Eastern Cape.

A level 5 warning and a level 2 warning has been issued for disruptive snowfall over parts of the Eastern Cape by the SA Weather Service.

In the Free State snowfall is possible on the high-ground around Zastron, Fauresmith, Philippolis, Trompsburg, Springfrontein, Rouxville, Ficksburg, Fouriesburg, Clarens and other areas marked on the map.

Snowfall is currently indicated on the slopes of the Drakensberg and Maluti mountains and at higher elevations in KwaZulu-Natal around Kokstad, Swartberg, Underberg, Himeville, Kamberg as well as Sani Pass.

A level 2 warning has been issued for disruptive snowfall over the south-western parts of KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday and Wednesday.

ALSO READ: Seven warnings issued for severe weather on Tuesday including disruptive snow and rain.

Snow is no longer indicated on the N3 in central KwaZulu-Natal.

Snow is indicated for most of Lesotho, including around Semonkong, Thaba-Tseka and Afriski. More than 10cm is currently indicated in many parts of the country.

In the Northern Cape snow is indicated on the high-ground to the east of De Aar.

Snow is no longer indicated for Mpumalanga.

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


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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