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Snow astonishes South Africans
Associated Press
Johannesburg — Snow. Floods. Icy winds. Maybe even a tornado.
South Africans are facing one of their harshest winter in years, with at least
four deaths blamed on flooding from heavy rain that has caused travel delays
in the south and west of the country.
While north of the equator, much of the United States sweats through a heat
wave, Johannesburg saw flurries Wednesday for the first time in at least eight
years, the national weather service said. Stunned office workers pressed
against windows to savour the spectacle.
Freezing temperatures are not unusual at higher altitudes during the winter,
but heavy snow has fallen in some interior towns that rarely experience such
weather. More snow and gale force winds were expected Thursday in some areas,
Weather SA said.
Related to this article
Enlarge Image
Residents play in the snow in Clarens, South Africa, Wednesday. (Gabby Nel/AP)
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Global warming exists. Everyone knows it. It's all politics...
#13 - I'm not dismissing global climate change, but I did read...
they get snow while I'm practically baking up here? come on!...
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Torrential rains have caused flooding along the southern coast, including the
town of George in the Western Cape province, where a rain-swollen river swept
a car from a bridge. Police recovered two men and two children who had been
inside the vehicle, but rescuers were looking for a fifth person believed to
have been in the car.
Homes were flooded, sending scores of families to seek shelter at a community
centre and school, local authorities said.
Heavy snow, rain and falling rocks closed mountain roads in parts of the
interior, including a border post with Lesotho, according to local news
reports.
The George airport was closed Tuesday, disrupting 24 flights before it
reopened Wednesday morning, airport officials said. Passenger trains in the
Western Cape were running up to 14 hours late, the Spoornet rail company said.
Meteorologists were investigating whether a severe storm that swept through
the northern town of Dullstroom on Tuesday night was a tornado. At least six
people were injured in the heavy winds and rain, which also ripped roofs off
homes, police said.
"A candle loses nothing of its light by lighting another candle"
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