Tuesday 7 August 2012 was a rather unusual day in South Africa as all nine provinces experienced snowfall. The nation witnessed quite a rare occurrence, given that winter snow is usually expected on the Drakensberg mountain range of the Eastern Cape, towns in the Little Karoo and the peaks of Cape mountains such as Ceres and Robertson.
Yet Tuesday morning, Johannesburg saw its first snowflakes since 2007, which “grew heavier in the afternoon, covering rooftops and slicking roads” (www.weathersa.co.za). South African Weather Service recorded snowfall across most of South Africa by mid-afternoon leading to several roads and some of the border posts being closed.
Later that afternoon snowflakes swept the sky in South Africa’s capital Pretoria, just in time for the visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
For more information: South African Weather Service: www.weathersa.co.za