Weather

The Black South Easter!

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
Atmospheric Cape Point Peninsula
On the Cape Point Peninsula we have two prevailing weather patterns- the south easter and the south wester. Usually these two winds can be catagorized by the south wester being the prevailing wind in Cape Points winter season and the south easter being the norm for summer. South wester is a strong indicator that bad weather is on the way, it normally blows before and after c...
Read More

Weather Warnings could get me 10 years in Pollsmoor!!!

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
Well that's nice to know at least. I was absolutely shocked and appalled to read about a proposed amendment to existing legislation regarding the reporting of weather. Essentially it will be an offence under the law to issue a 'severe weather warning' without first having the written permission of the SA weather bureau. The problem is that there is no definition as to wha...
Read More

A Ring AroundThe Sun

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
A ring around the sun
No this isn't a fancy photoshop style effect, I actually took this photo exactly like this just before noon today. The effect is caused by ice crystals in high cirrus clouds and is the first time that I have seen it in the heat of Africa, and around the sun. It is common to see the ring around a full moon, when it is referred to as a Hunter's Moon, however, as the heat from ...
Read More

Unusually dry winter on the Cape Point Peninsula

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
Lewis Gay Dam, Cape Point Peninsula, Water Levels 19-8-2010
We were very happy in our house today. It rained! Yes, we were happy that it rained. The garden was as dry as toast and you don’t need to be a climatologist to know that the nice winter weather we have been enjoying will lead to water shortages in the Cape Point Peninsula come the end of summer. In recent years we have been made increasingly aware of climatic problems such as g...
Read More

Heavy Weather Warning for the Cape Point Peninsula

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
It is a beautiful day today, however the South African Weather Beaurau have issued a heavy weather warning for the Cape Point area for the coming week. They are forecasting winds up to 65kph and heavy rain. So enjoy the sunshine while it lasts and get ready for a pretty ordinary week weather-wise. Take it easy on the roads and be safe.
Read More

Total Eclipse of the Moon- Cloud Over the Cape Point Peninsula Nearly Spoilt it.

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
The moon during an eclipse, showing just a thin sliver left
The clouds were scudding across the sky following one of the most violent thunderstorms we have had for a while. Fortunately it stopped raining and the strong south wester provided enough breaks in the clouds to allow fleeting glimpses of this centuries longest total eclipse of the moon. Although not as rare as a total eclipse of the sun, nor as spectacular it is a sight sti...
Read More

Winter comes early to the Cape Point Peninsula

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
I sat for most of the day watching the rain sweep across the Fish Hoek Valley, driven from the west by squally winds, lamenting the fact that the endless sunny days have come to an end. It is one of the quirks of our weather patterns here on the Cape Point Peninsula that summer seems to stretch on forever- during the hottest parts of the year, when it is too hot during the day ...
Read More

Get the Cape Point weather through Cape Point Chronicle

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
To add more useful features to the web site I was trawling through widgets that I could use (they are handy little bits of code that sit in the column on the right of the screen) and I came across a weather widget (you may have to scroll down a bit to see it). I just told it where I was in the world and it puts the current weather and a three day forecast. Its pretty basic stuf...
Read More

Solar Flare Causing Dangerous Levels of UV in Cape Point Peninsula

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
A solar event, roughly 93 million miles from Earth will have long lasting effects on us in Southern Africa, the Western Cape and in particular the Cape Point Peninsula, if we don't take precautions over the coming months. The Sun has spewed out billions of tons of radioactive material from its surface in an astrological event called a 'solar flare': think of it as the Sun ...
Read More

La Nina Still With Us- Conflicting Forecasts for Cape Point Peninsula

Posted on by Russell Hepworth
In an early post I reported that we were going to enter a La Nina cycle of weather, (for more on this follow this link.) At the time the phenomina was expected to give us a wet end to the winter, which it did, heavy rain for the north of the country in the summer and- if it stays with us, the pattern should be for a dry winter in the Western Cape. Certainly, world expert opi...
Read More