A severe thunderstorm warning is in place for Gauteng, the south-western Highveld of Mpumalanga and northern KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, 6 November 2026, and the South African Weather Service is forecasting more showers and thundershowers into the weekend.
According to the South African Weather Service (SAWS), the yellow level 4 warning applies to Gauteng, the south-western Highveld of Mpumalanga and northern KwaZulu-Natal. A yellow level 2 warning also covers the eastern Free State and North West, central KwaZulu-Natal, parts of the Mpumalanga Highveld and the western Bushveld of Limpopo, with hot and humid conditions forecast for north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal.
What the severe thunderstorm warning means
The weather service said the storms could bring heavy downpours, hail and dangerous lightning, with flooding, damage to infrastructure and disruptions to electricity supply possible. SAWS grades warnings by their likely impact rather than rainfall alone, using a colour and a level from 1 to 10. Level 4 is the highest tier in the yellow band, and orange warnings begin at level 5.
SAWS spokesperson Lehlohonolo Thobela said on Thursday, 5 November 2026, that the severe weather was expected to develop from the early evening, with storms spreading across the central and eastern parts of the country. He said:
We’re still expecting isolated to scattered thunderstorms possible over the central and eastern parts of the country. This would include the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, as well as into Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the eastern parts of the North West.
Severe thunderstorm forecast for the weekend
The weather service’s forecast lists showers and thundershowers for Pretoria on Saturday, 7 November 2026, with temperatures between 23°C and 35°C. The Friday forecast also carries a 60% chance of rain in parts of the country, while the Western Cape and Eastern Cape are expected to see rain.
Thunderstorms are most common on the Highveld between October and March, when strong daytime heating builds storm clouds through the afternoon. Hot, humid mornings are often followed by heavy downpours, hail and lightning in the late afternoon and evening, and the combination can flood roads and low-lying areas quickly in built-up parts of Gauteng.
Earlier storm warnings during election week
The warnings follow a similar level 4 warning on Thursday, 5 November 2026, which covered Gauteng, the Mpumalanga Highveld, central-southern Limpopo, the eastern parts of the Free State and North West, and most of KwaZulu-Natal. The weather service also warned of extremely high fire danger in parts of eight provinces and damaging interior winds in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape.
SAWS had already issued a yellow level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal for Monday, 2 November 2026, the first day of special votes in the local government elections. A yellow level 2 warning covered the KwaZulu-Natal coast between Port Edward and Mtubatuba, and a level 1 warning covered the Eastern Cape escarpment, the eastern Free State and southern Gauteng.
Sources
- IOL, Severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and hail threaten parts of SA as temperatures soar (6 November 2026)
- EWN, SA Weather Service issues level 4 warning for severe storms in Gauteng & KZN (5 November 2026)
- South African Weather Service, regional forecast and warnings (6 November 2026)
- African Insider, Storms, floods and scorching heat threaten several provinces
- allAfrica, South Africa: Weather Alerts Issued Ahead of Special Voting (2 November 2026)
- Swisher Post, Local government elections 2026: How to vote on polling day
