Winter returns with fake snow in the Cape
October 08 2007 at 12:22PM
By Leila Samodien
Snow in the middle of Cape Town's city centre would be a rare sight.
But it became something of a reality on Sunday when a small part of the city was transformed into a winter wonderland, complete with ice-capped cars and snow-covered pavements.
It may only have been the set for the shoot of a television ad, but Capetonians gathered on the sidelines to catch a glimpse.
With most of Burg and Wale streets closed off for the shoot, it was a scene out of a traditional white Christmas movie.
The crew had covered both roads with layers of snow like foam, despite it being spring in the southern hemisphere.
The producer on set, Cindy Rodkin, said their "snow" had been made from a mixture of products, including kids' foam bath, to make it look like the real thing.
She said the ad would be aired on German television later in 2007.
Meanwhile, actual weather conditions in Cape Town on Sunday perfectly complemented the scene.
Across the city temperatures dropped as low as 9°C and reached a maximum of only 14°C.
This was accompanied by strong southerly winds and rainfall, which abated later in the day.
Real snow also fell at George and on the Swartberg, Matroosberg and Hottentots Holland mountains, contributing to the chill that was felt in the air.
A national weather warning from Weather SA on its website has since cautioned that cold conditions will persist in the high rising areas of the Western Cape on Monday.
Weather forecaster Carlton Fillis said such conditions were normal for this time of year.
"In the transition between seasons, you do get a combination of both winter and summer conditions.
"It's not completely unusual," he said.
Johan Minnie, spokesperson for the city's Disaster Risk Management, said high risk areas in the city had not reported being affected by the rain and wind.
Temperatures for today was forecast to be slightly warmer, but reaching a maximum of only 17°C.
The rest of the week will see things warm up, reaching a high of 29°C on Thursday.
No rain is expected for the rest of the week, while south easterly winds are predicted that could reach speeds of up to 40km/h.
