Germiston tornado update | SA weather teams say minimal damage reported

The South African Weather Service (Saws) has classified Thursday's tornado in Germiston as an EF0 tornado, the weakest category on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

IOL reported that the country's weather forecast authority sent a team to Germiston, in the East Rand region of Gauteng, following reports of a tornado.

The team has since confirmed that an on-the-ground assessment near Rand Airport found no significant damage.

According to the team, there were only minor impacts noted, which included broken branches at a nearby golf course and puddles from heavy rainfall.

"Saws has classified the event as an EF0 tornado. The weakest category on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with wind speeds of 105–137 km/h. EF0 tornadoes usually cause only light damage but remain dangerous," the forecaster stated.

Meanwhile, a Yellow Level 2 warning has been issued for severe thunderstorms on Friday afternoon in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

"Partly cloudy and warm conditions are expected with possible isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms over central and eastern parts of the country for both Friday and Saturday," Saws warned.

seanne.rall@iol.co.za

IOL