Records of July rainfall in Cape Town this year (2024), were at an all time high.
An analysis of rainfall data by the South African Weather Service (SAWS) stations, show rainfall records held in the Mother City, have never reached these levels.
Cape Town City (Oranjezicht) station recorded 317,6 mm of rain in July 2024 alone, exceeding an average of 128,0 mm for this month.
Compare this to about 81,8 mm of rain, inJuly 2023.
SAWS said in a statement on Monday evening, this figure is the highest monthly rainfall recorded for July since comprehensive records began in 1960.
Information compiled by Stella Nake, Senior Forecaster at SAWS, edited by Dr Ramontsheng Rapolaki, Lead Scientist, show the month of July 2024, had record-breaking rainfall totals, in some areas of the south-western parts of South Africa.
Ramontsheng said things got off to a slow June 2024, as rainfall was notably below normal, but this soon changed, when a series of cold fronts swept through the region in July. They brought along substantial rainfall.
He said, the Cape Town International Airport Station, recorded the highest monthly rainfall total since the station’s inception in July 1956, exceeding three times the average for July.
“For example, the station in Newlands at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens received over 500 mm of rain for July 2024, making it the wettest month on record for this station since 1999. The stations in Franschhoek, Kenilworth, and Villiersdorp, with records dating back to the late 2000s, also reported significant rainfall for the month. These three stations set new records since their inception, even surpassing the total monthly rainfall recorded during the September storm of 2023.”