Cut-off lows over South Africa: a review

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dc.contributor.authorMdoka, Marshall Lison
dc.contributor.authorXulu, Nkosinathi G.
dc.contributor.authorChikoore, Hector
dc.contributor.authorBopape , Mary-Jane M.
dc.contributor.authorNdarana, Thando
dc.contributor.authorMuofhe, Tshimbiluni
dc.contributor.authorMbokodo, Innocent L.
dc.contributor.authorMunyai, Rendani B.
dc.contributor.authorSingo, Mukovhe V.
dc.contributor.authorMohomi, Tumelo
dc.contributor.authorMbatha, Sifiso
dc.coverageBasel, Switzerland
dc.coverage.conferenceissn
dc.date.accessioned2025-11-26T07:28:26Z
dc.date.available2025-11-26T07:28:26Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.departmentNameGeography and Environmental Studies
dc.description.abstractEvery year, cut-off low (COL) pressure systems produce severe weather conditions and heavy rainfall, often leading to flooding, devastation and disruption of socio-economic activities in South Africa. COLs are defined as cold-cored synoptic-scale mid-tropospheric low-pressure systems which occur in the mid-latitudes and cause persistent heavy rainfall. As they occur throughout the year, these weather systems are important rainfall producing systems that are also associated with extreme cold conditions and snowfalls. An in-depth review of COLs is critical due to their high impacts which affect some parts of the country regularly, affecting lives and livelihoods. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the literature on COLs over the South African domain, whilst also comparing them with their Southern Hemisphere counterparts occurring in South America and Australia. We focus on the occurrence, development, propagation, dynamical processes and impacts of COLs on society and the environment. We also seek to understand stratospheric–tropospheric exchanges resulting from tropopause folding during the occurrence of COLs. Sometimes, COLs may extend to the surface, creating conditions conducive to extreme rainfall and high floods over South Africa, especially when impinged on the coastal escarpment. The slow propagation of COLs appears to be largely modulated by a quasi-stationary high-pressure system downstream acting as a blocking system. We also reviewed two severe COL events that occurred over the south and east coasts and found that in both cases, interactions of the low-level flow with the escarpment enhanced lifting and deep convection. It was also determined from the literature that several numerical weather prediction models struggle with placement and amounts of rainfall associated with COLs, both near the coast and on the interior plateau. Our study provides the single most comprehensive treatise that deals with COL characteristics affecting the South African domain.
dc.facultyFaculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering
dc.format.preprintNo
dc.identifier.citationXulu, N.G., Chikoore, H., Bopape, M.J.M., Ndarana, T., Muofhe, T.P., Mbokodo, I.L., Munyai, R.B., Singo, M.V., Mohomi, T., Mbatha, S.M. and Mdoka, M.L., 2023. Cut-off lows over South Africa: a review. Climate, 11(3), pp.1-15.
dc.identifier.issn2225-1154 (online)
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.3390/cli11030059
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10530/58415
dc.inproceedingsissn
dc.issuenumber11 / 3
dc.keynoteissn
dc.pages1 - 15
dc.peerreviewedYes
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.subjectCut-off low
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.subjectExtreme rainfall
dc.subjectSnow
dc.subjectPotential vorticity
dc.subjectRossby wave breaking
dc.titleCut-off lows over South Africa: a review
dc.title.journalClimate
dc.typeJournal Article
dspace.entity.typePublication
relation.isAuthorOfPublication840f9d72-5e00-474f-b594-0ab40bfac1b6
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery840f9d72-5e00-474f-b594-0ab40bfac1b6
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication34b1a075-2442-41e5-bb66-ac93a4c9cde0
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication.latestForDiscovery34b1a075-2442-41e5-bb66-ac93a4c9cde0
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