Claymore

I think we've had rain every day since around Christmas - sometimes just a sprinkle, sometimes a whole day of pouring rain. It's actually been lovely. It's not hugely unusual to have a lot of around around this time of year, though it's not common to have it so continuous. Of course, we had a number of long heat waves in November and December, so I guess it's not surprising.

To put it in perspective, though: Johannesburg (and most of Gauteng province and part of the Free State province) are supplied from the gigantic Vaal Dam, and we need the dam to have a lot of water to get through winter. Two weeks ago, the dam was at 23.9% full - very low. A week ago, it was 24.3%. Today, it's 47%. The dam, when full, is 321km² in area, with a capacity of 2.57 billion m³ (2.57 billion tonnes). That's an enormous amount of water in a week. (It is a bit more complicated, because it's part of a system of 7 dams, so the upstream dams are at or near capacity and releasing water).

We've just loving the weather. So are the flies and mosquitoes...

Here's Northcliff Hill on an overcast day. This is a full colour picture.



We've had some spectacular sunsets when there has been a bit of sun.

Spring started off pretty hot (30C+), and then last week we had a cold snap; we haven't had on at this time of year since the late 2010s. Saturday was rainy and cold, the cold-in-your-bones sort of cold. Sunday, thankfully, was cold but not wet, a good thing as I was doing a 15K race. On Saturday, 53 parkruns around the country were cancelled, the highest ever!

Conditions countrywide were cold too. In fact, the N3 freeway, the biggest inter-city freeway in the country, was closed at Van Reenen's Pass because of snow, and 1800 cars were trapped in the snow. Locals and farmers were helping the people in cars out. 

The weather is hot again, but I hear it may be cooler over the weekend.

I just checked the weather, and it's 37C (98.6F) here! I don't recall ever seeing a temperature like that here in Johannesburg. At any rate, despite the heat, it's comfortable enough inside the house (I have a desk fan in my study and an open window) and under the lapa. I wouldn't want to be out in the sun though. Thankfully it's only 20% humidity, which Accuweather says is "ideal".

Now that we're heading into autumn, we've had some spectacular sunsets. Here are some of the pics I've taken.

We had an incredible hailstorm here on Friday. I was on my way to Parktown at the time, and next thing the heavens opened, and the hail fell out of the sky. It really looked like a snowfall; quite beautiful.

In Parktown, I had to collect a PC from someone who lived on the historic Rock Ridge Road; the houses there looked so beautiful with white hail on the roofs and grounds. I did have a go at seeing how easy it was to stop my car on the layer of ice on the road; answer: not easy. The ABS hammered my foot, and the car took a lot longer to stop than it would have on a normal wet road.

Anyway, I took some pics: