The satellite images on this post are all "copyright EUMETSAT 2008"
I have accessed these images from the SA Weather Website, following the links "Satellite Images" from the menu at the top of the page and the "EUMETSAT Satellite Viewer" link on the left of the page (South Africa falls in area 8 and 9).
The webcam images are all taken from the "Cape Town Webcam South Africa - Kapstadt Webcam Südafrika" site.
I generally use the EUMETSAT site (area 8) to track the weather approaching Cape Town.
This together with the Cape Town Webcam South Africa site which shows me the prevailing weather in the southern suburbs, where I live (left of the mountain), in downtown Cape Town, where I work, in front of the saddle between Table Mountain and Signal Hill, and directly approaching Cape Town from the Atlantic Ocean on the right of the image.
I use the latest webcam image daily to decide whether it is 'weather safe' to use my motorcycle to travel from home to downtown Cape Town, or alternatively, if I'm at work with the motorcycle, how much rain-gear to wear for the ride home.
30 August 2008 06h00
The cold front approaches Cape Town from the West
30 August 2008 09h00
The approaching cold front (north-westerly wind from the right side of the image) causes cloud to form over Table Mountain and occasional rain in the southern suburbs
30 August 2008 15h00
The wind is really howling now - up to 90km/h
I rode to Gert's house in the northern suburbs during the morning and although the wind was vicious I didn't get wet till I was 2km from home on my return to the southern suburbs (Plumstead)
30 August 2008 15h00
The rain had really set in during the afternoon when Chris and I took a drive to some 4x4 shops to look at accesories for his Landrover
By the time we went back to the Waterfront to collect "Milandi" (My Landy) at 18h00 it was raining harder than I have ever experienced in downtown Cape Town
30 August 2008 21h00
The webcam shows the streaming rain really well
30 August 2008 21h00
The main front is through Cape Town.
What Gigi and I call 'Spikkel weather', from the speckled appearance of the cloud patterns that follow each front, then sets in.
This weather is a series of freezing cold rain squalls, often bringing hail or snow, interspersed by cold sunny intervals
31 August 2008 06h00
It's still dark in Cape Town - and I'm still asleep in bed with occasional rain and light hail pattering on the bedroom window which faces the approaching weather
31 August 2008 06h00
The satellite image shows the 'squally' weather
31 August 2008 09h00
I'm lying in bed with Gigi, drinking coffee accompanied by her famous buttermilk rusks, watching the BBC Series "Walking with Dinosaurs" and posting this blog
later ...
31 August 2008 12h00OK - The 12hoo image has finally been loaded.
Here is a full disk image showing the front spreading up into South Africa today. You can see the cold air from the deep cold southern ocean 'exploding' northwards across the south of the continent.
The cities up north, like Johannesburg and Pretoria, are in for a rude drop in their temperature this evening!
This is an interesting 'Air mass' (whatever that is) image from the WeatherSA web site which clearly shows the cold front in all its glory.
My sympathy to residents of New Orleans.
I've just heard on the midday news of the evacuation of the city ahead of the approaching hurricane Gustav which is forecast to strike the U.S. Gulf Coast harder than Katrina did three years ago!
Photo copyright NOAA
4 comments:
Great comprehensive storm coverage, thanks.
It's fascinating to see the satellite pics and accompanying web cam images in retrospect, with all that howling fury behind us.
Hubby in his wisdom thought he would take the dog for a run at Milnerton beach. Guess what time? Around 3pm Saturday!
Of course with high tide and storm surge, there was NO beach at all - just angry seas swiping at the fence at Maestro's.
Hello Dennis the photos of Table Mountain are amazing even with such rubbish weather. I havent seen that veiw for almost 11 years, moved to the UK from Milnerton where I was living in a block of flats called Palo-Alto. It brings back good memories.
Hi Peter, glad to bring back the good memories. You can see that view of Table Mountain any time at http://www.kapstadt.de/livecam.htm , regards, Dennis
Hi Alison, Hubby chose a BAD afternoon for a beach walk. I enjoyed a quick scan of your web site. Snap - I also grew up and went to school in Zimbabwe, varsity at UCT and spent most of the last 27 years in Stellenbosch and Cape Town.
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