eW/WE/…
The water environment
Climate: Wind
In Kwa Zulu-Natal, the coast is exposed both to warm water
offshore and the southeast trade winds for most of the year.
During the winter there is however, virtually no wind along the
coast.
Gale-force winds are frequent on the coasts, especially in the
south western and southern coastal areas.
In Gauteng, the summer days are warm and wind free (relatively)
and winter days are crisp and clear.
The entire South African coastline is fairly windy. Mean annual
winds speed along our coastline exceeding 4m/s and in some
spots it exceeds even 6m/s.
During the winter, South Africa experiences a strong continental
high pressure cell over the central plateau. This causes warm
north-westerly winds to precede each cold front. The cold fronts
develop approximately every 7 days over the cold Atlantic ocean
and then shifts towards the east.
During the summer, South Africa experiences a low pressure cell
over the central plateau, originating from over the tropical oceans
northeast of the country. This causes easterly winds along the
east coast that often develop in powerful revolving storms.
Left:
Many South Afri-can
farmers depend on
the wind for extraction of groundwater.
Above and left:
South Africans
have learned to
use the windy
conditions for all
kinds of sport.
Contact: ewisa@wamsys.co.za URL: www.waterinfo.co.za
Prepared by: eWISA
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Sponsored by:
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