S. Africans Shiver Through Harsh Winter

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-af/2006/aug/02/080206161.html

Snow. Floods. Icy winds. Maybe even a tornado. South Africans are facing one of their harshest winters 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 savor 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.

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.

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[smirkymonkey]

1. Wow - I didn't think it EVER got cold enough down there to snow.

I assumed it was fairly tropical. Learn something new everyday, I guess.