Unseasonal rain brings welcome relief to dry gardens

Writer: De Waal Steyn.

After the near-heatwave conditions experienced last week, the sudden switch to almost wintery-like temperatures and unseasonal rain over the weekend, caught many Overstranders off-guard.

With the average maximum temperature measured over the last 58 years for January hovering around 32˚C, the cold spell was indeed unseasonal. The generous rainfall, however, was a windfall as, according to statistics by the South African National Space Agency, the average rainfall for January, as measured over the last 73 years is only 25,4 mm for the month.

According to Facebook users an average of between 80 mm and 100 mm was measured in the Overstrand. In Betty’s Bay more than 60 mm was recorded, in Palmiet, Kleinmond more than 100 mm, at Arabella almost 90 mm and in Stanford more than 70 mm. In the Greater Hermanus area between 80 mm and 128 mm were recorded at different spots. In total for the weekend, close to 130 mm was recorded in Caledon.

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