Cape Town - Capetonians are talking of little other than how this winter is the wettest they can remember – and they’re probably right, considering that the Cape Town Weather Office says most parts of the Western Cape recorded almost double the usual amount of rain last month.
This year, Strand, which has a rainfall average of 101.9mm in August, showed the highest increase in rainfall – with a record 235.2mm recorded last month.
The rainfall in Khayelitsha, Philippi, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Ottery, Delft and Kuils River last month was 168mm – the second highest for the month after the 169.7mm recorded in August 2004. This was compared to an average for those areas of 85.3mm.
Rainfall in the Green Point and V&A Waterfront area nearly doubled, jumping from 76.6mm in August last year to 151.2mm this year. Chapman’s Peak also had its highest August rainfall since 2000, at 171.6mm.
Weather office spokeswoman Gail Linnow said: “Most places in the Western Cape recorded almost double the amount of rain for the month of August 2013, compared to the average for the area.”
In most areas in and around Cape Town, last month saw either the highest or second highest rainfall since 2000.
The highest recorded August rainfall for the Cape Flats was 160.7mm in 2004, 195.5mm for Observatory, also in 2004, and 224.4mm in 2001 for Gardens.
Observatory had 188.8mm of rain last month – more than double its rainfall for the same month last year. Gardens had just over 200mm of rainfall last month, not far short of its 2001 high.
Rainfall in the Septembers since 2000 has been significantly lower than that of August, with the wettest September for most areas being in 2008. But this September is not over.
So far this month, the wettest area in Cape Town has been Gardens, with 34.4mm of rain.
Dam levels have also increased over the years as a result of heavier rains.
Five of the city’s six major dams, and five of the seven minor dams, were over capacity last week for the first time since 2009.
For the years 2009 and 2013, the only major dam with water levels below capacity during the week of September 9 to 15 was Wemmershoek dam, near Franschhoek and Paarl.
The province’s biggest dam, Theewaterskloof Dam, near Villiersdorp, had the highest water levels, with a recording of 104.9 percent – which is also the highest recorded water level for the week of September 9 to 15 between 2009 and 2013.
The last time Theewaterskloof Dam, which has a capacity of 480 188 megalitres, was over-capacity was in 2009, with water levels recorded as 102.8 percent.
Voëlvlei Dam, near Gouda, which has had water levels within or just under capacity since 2009, was 1.8 percent over capacity last week.
The province’s third largest dam, the Berg River Dam, reached its highest water levels – 102 percent storage – for last week between 2009 and 2013.
Of the province’s minor dams, Kleinplaats had the highest water levels for the week with 102.5 percent storage – the first time the dam has been over capacity.
Alexandra and Lewis Gay dams, the province’s smallest and third smallest, respectively, are the only dams to have not gone over capacity for the week September 9 to 15 in the years between 2009 and 2013.
sibongakonke.mama@inl.co.za
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