The old joke in the '70s was: “What comes after two days of rain?’ The answer is “Monday”.
Many of us are tired of all the rainy weekends and beautiful summer days during the week when most are at work.
Working mothers are particularly unhappy as weekends are usually the time to do the laundry.
As I alluded to in last week’s column, it seems we are returning to the '70s type weather that I grew up with.
I will take the rain any day, but this wind causes havoc with everything.
Laundry lands up all over the garden and my beautiful ranunculus look like they were in a war zone.
Though December is traditionally our windiest month, some locals swear that it is September or October.
This perception stems from the wind already blowing when we wake in the morning during these months, not giving us time to think.
In December, those welcome afternoon breezes give relief from the heat.
I cannot remember when we last had the soft, continuous soaking rain that fell for most of this past weekend in the metro and surrounds.
The grass and all other vegetation immediately took on the most wonderful hue of green.
Considering that it was between light rain and drizzle, one would have not expected any flooding.
I do not recall any warnings issued in this regard.
An event like this should not warrant a second glance, leave alone a weather warning.
However, after all the rain since May, I believe our water table is sitting at a maximum, and the soil is so saturated that any rainfall would turn into runoff.
We saw the famous Third Avenue dip in flood, as well as Lakeside and Seaview roads — scenes reminiscent of the 2012 string of extreme rainfall events.
I am sure these scenes bring back some sad memories for brides having to cancel their dream day that year, when the Lavender Barn was constantly flooded.
Farmers in the Cambria area are again seeing the Grootrivier being flooded, which in turn is running into the Gamtoos River and keeping it at a high level.
All this water is coming from the Beaufort West area, where it is being released from the Beervlei Dam, which is a flood control dam.
The dam is presently at 107% full, so a lot of water must still flow down into the Gamtoos River.
Further to the east of Beaufort West, the Gats River turned into a raging torrent this weekend, passing through Nieu-Bethesda on its way to the Nqweba Dam just outside Robert Sobukwe Town (Graaff-Reinet), which is overflowing beautifully.
According to my sources, this was not so much because of rain, but more because of a farm dam that burst.
At the time of publication, further details were not available.
This water then heads to the Darlington Dam, which apparently cannot hold its full capacity due to issues with its sluice gates.
The excess water then makes its way to the ocean via Sundays River Mouth.
This puts the region in a favourable situation going into summer, with the persisting warnings of a dry hot season.
For the people fed by the Emerald Hill Reservoir, all this water did nothing for their water woes this weekend, with reported issues at the pumping station once again.
Though I am a staunch water conservationist and believe that we must always conserve this scarce resource, it is weird that our metro is embarking on a water-saving drive, though our dams are overflowing.
It does not make logical sense, as one cannot save something that one cannot store.
One cannot be blamed for thinking this is some way to justify keeping the high punitive water rates we have been subjected to since the height of the drought, and which have never been reduced.
As for the forecast hot summer, if the last few week's weekday weather is anything to go by, it seems a certainty and I will have no option but to invest in an air conditioner or two.
1978: A misclassified tornado (landspout) made landfall in the Mount Pleasant area, causing minor damage to a roof.
Weather safety tips: During these windy months, falling branches and toppling trees pose a risk to vehicles. Avoid parking under or near trees wherever possible.
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