Cape Town has a Mediterranean-style climate that’s the reverse of most of South Africa’s summer-rainfall regions: it gets its rain mainly in winter, from May through August, driven by cold fronts sweeping up from the Southern Ocean, averaging around 500 mm (roughly 20 inches) a year. Table Mountain and the surrounding peaks funnel and intensify these systems, meaning rainfall can vary sharply between neighborhoods just a few kilometers apart depending on their exposure to the mountain. The city faced a severe water crisis in recent years when several consecutive winters brought well below-average rain, underscoring how closely the region’s water supply tracks a handful of winter storm systems each year. Strong winter cold fronts can also bring damaging wind alongside the rain. Because so much of the year’s total falls in a compressed winter window, radar tracking of each incoming front is a meaningful way to follow the season’s progress. The South African Weather Service operates the national radar network.
Learn more: How Does Rain Radar Work? · Open the full Rain Map