News, South Africa Sees Rarity: Snow (country, people)

[John1960]

People slowly came outside despite the cold wind today across South Africa, pointed their mobile phone cameras to the sky, and opened their mouths to taste a rare snowfall that fell on much of the country. The snow began this morning, part of an extreme cold snap now biting into a nation still in its winter months. By mid-afternoon, officials recorded snowfall across most of South Africa.

South Africa Sees Rarity: Snow - Nation in midst of winter cold snap

[green_mariner]

To anyone who says it doesn't snow in Africa, here is proof of the opposite.

[Dd714]

I spent most of my time in S. Africa with a jacket on when I visited. That was in May - their fall.

[jtur88]

It snowed all day the day I was leaving Mbabane, the capital of Lesotho, which is surrounded by South Africa. But it is in the hills, and it might not have snowed much in RSA that day.

Here are the African rondavel-style chalets at the ski lodge in Lesotho:

http://bna-art.s3.amazonaws.com/www....12/Lesotho.jpg

[lentzr]

The Drakensburg (sp?) Mountains near Lesotho see snow all the time. In fact, I believe that there is a small ski center there. Not exactly the Alps, but enough snow for downhill skiing.

[video646]

Wow, that's cool to see! I always enjoy reading about unusual weather events such as this one.

[mrconfusion87]

^^^ Agree with there man, especially when it's cold weather ones.... Hehehehe....

[jeffredo]

Johannesburg and Pretoria are on a high plateau - high enough to catch snow more often than most cities in Northern California. Much of South Africa has a great climate.

[Trimac20]

Much of South Africa is elevated so does see occasional snow. The higher parts of the mountains see regular snow. Other parts of Africa that see snow include the Atlas Mountains, and the highest peaks (over about 4,500 m) such as Mt Kenya and Kilimanjaro.