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It's time to crank up the aircon and keep the drinks on ice as a heatwave is about to hit Gauteng and surrounds this weekend.
According to South African Weather Service (SAWS) forecaster Edward Engelbrecht, residents should brace themselves for a hot weekend with temperatures in some places predicted to soar up to 37°C.
"We're expecting a heatwave that will last until Sunday. It will cover the whole of Gauteng as well as the western Highveld of Mpumalanga and the northeastern part of the Free State."
Engelbrecht explained that a heatwave occurs when temperatures are 5°C higher than the average temperature of the warmest month - which is January - for three consecutive days.
"Pretoria has an average maximum temperature of 32°C for January. So if we get 5° warmer than that for three consecutive days, we have a heatwave."
Engelbrecht said the maximum temperature for Pretoria was 35°C on Thursday and would increase to 37°C in parts of Gauteng and surrounding areas over the weekend.
"By Tuesday, it should cool down a bit," Engelbrecht said, "but it will still be quite warm".
Where is the rain?
Engelbrecht said while other inland provinces, such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the North West have had some rain, Gauteng is still to experience its first summer showers.
"It's literally skipping over Gauteng. The next week doesn't look good in terms of rain. There is a small chance of isolated showers on Friday in Gauteng.
"Apart from some isolated showers, it also doesn't look great for the next week."
