The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has confirmed that exceptionally high rainfall totals have been recorded at the Ceres Automatic Weather Station (AWS), highlighting a notably active start to the winter rainfall season over parts of the south-western interior in the Western Cape.
“Climatologically, May marks the transition into the Western Cape winter rainfall season. However, the magnitude of rainfall observed during May 2026 was significantly above normal,” the weather service said on Tuesday.
Rainfall observations extracted on 22 May 2026 indicate that the Ceres AWS has already accumulated a monthly total of 507,0 mm for May to date.
“This amount far exceeds rainfall totals recorded during the preceding months of 2026. The most significant rainfall event occurred between 10 and 12 May 2026, when two persistent and intense cold fronts affected Ceres and much of the Western Cape,” SAWS said.
During these three days, the station recorded 69,4 mm on 10 May, an exceptional 333,2 mm on 11 May and 75,6 mm on 12 May.
According to the weather service, the May 2026 rainfall total recorded at the Ceres AWS was exceptionally high when compared to the station’s long-term climatological monthly averages.
The station recorded 507,0 mm during May 2026 (to date), while the long-term average rainfall for May is approximately 80,4 mm.
This means that rainfall during May 2026 was more than six times the average monthly rainfall normally expected for this time of year.
The rainfall total also exceeded the climatological monthly averages for the peak winter rainfall months, including the June average of 245,2 mm, the July average of 182,0 mm and the August average of 120,0 mm.
While the substantial rainfall contributed positively to dam levels, groundwater recharge, river flows, and agricultural water availability, the excessive rainfall over this short period had adverse impacts on communities.
“Much of the impact associated with these extraordinary rainfall amounts was experienced across the Witzenberg, Breede Valley and Langeberg Municipalities, largely due to the Breede River catchment system originating in the Skurweberg Mountains near Ceres.
“The river flows through Mitchell’s Pass into the Breede River Valley and continues through major agricultural and wine-producing towns such as Worcester, Robertson and Swellendam before reaching the Indian Ocean at its estuary in Witsand. As a result, heavy runoff and rising river levels contributed to widespread impacts across parts of the catchment,” SAWS said. -SAnews.gov.za
