Photo: FW Archive
While grain farmers struggled to start the harvest season due to excessive rain and Nampo personnel lamented a rain-soaked terrain, drier, warmer conditions have prevailed over the last week.
Vox Weather meteorologist Michelle Cordier told Farmer’s Weekly that there was no reason farmers needed to miss Nampo in order to catch up on harvesting since these conditions were expected to last.
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A cold front is expected to move over the country this weekend, but by Tuesday clear skies are expected, with maximum temperatures expected to range between 18°C and 24°C.
Cordier said that this was around 4°C cooler than last year, which offered up a notably warmer Nampo than usual.
While minimum temperatures below freezing point were initially predicted for the week, WeatherSA meteorologist Lehlohonolo Thobela said that the forecast had been revised upwards, with evenings and early mornings reaching between 4°C to 8°C.
Thobela said that climatic conditions were expected to remain stable throughout the week, with dry conditions and clear skies prevailing.
Cordier cautioned drivers and pilots against reduced visibility in the early mornings as a result of fog.
The pleasant weather is expected to provide continued relief for farmers going into May, as conditions become more favourable for the harvest than those experienced in April. Cordier said that for the rest of May conditions would be mostly dry across large parts of the country, including the summer rainfall regions of the Free State, North West and parts of Limpopo.
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