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The Lowveld is situated in a subtropical climate zone and has an annual rainfall average of approximately 800 mm. It is a summer rainfall
region. The season starts in September and lasts until May. While
humid conditions prevail during the summer months, the winter months
of June, July, and August are dry. 

In the Summer temperatures range from as high as 40° C (104° F) during the day to 10° C (18° F) in the evening.  Winters are more mild
and temperatures usually vary between 20°C  (68° F) during the day 
and 10° C (46° F) at night. 

The South Lowveld Region of Mpumalanga (formerly the Eastern Transvaal) is part of a much wider eastern watershed region stretching from the Limpopo Valley in the north to the Eastern Cape in the South. The term "Lowveld" applies principally to the low-lying bush-clad plain of 
Mpumalanga with extensions southwards into Swaziland and the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal. 

The physical build of the region falls into a series of clearly-defined units. On the one hand, is the Highveld to the west and, on the other, the Lowveld to the east with the Drakensberg the dividing line between them. From north of the Olifants River this magnificant escarpment follows an outcrop of quartzitic rocks for 150 km southward to the Duiwel's Kantoor at the head of the De Kaap Valley. These rocks rest upon older granitic rocks which underlie most of the Lowveld to the east. In the south, the escarpment is less bold as it passes round the head of the valley of the upper Komati River and it is overshadowed by the mass of the Barberton Mountain Land, as easterly projection of the Highveld, formed by a great succession of rocks comprising the Primitive Systems. The Olifants, Blyde, Crocodile, Elands and Kaap Rivers have cut deep and often gorge-like indentations into this mountain wall. 

The Lowveld comprises the area between the Great Escarpment and the Lebombo Mountains, about 60 miles wide and underlain almost entirely by granite. It may be sub-divided into three geographical zones. The Lowveld plain (500 - 2000 feet above sea level) is a bush-clad, gently 
undulating surface. 

The transverse basins (2000 - 3000 feet) are extensions of the Lowveld carried westwards along the valleys of the main rivers to the base of 
the Drakensberg, of which the White River-Nelspruit basin and De Kaap basin are the best developed, each having been carved out behind narrow poorts.

The third zone is a well-defined step (2000 - 4000 feet) forming an intermediate bench with transitional climatic, vegetational and soil 
characteristics between the Highveld and the true Lowveld. It may be traced southwards from Bushbuckridge into Swaziland and into the upper Komati Valley. 

Among the outstanding characteristics of the Lowveld climate as a whole are its very mild winters. It is not too far inland to enjoy the 
warming affects of the Indian Ocean and yet is sufficiently far to the north to escape most of the cold outbreaks of sub-polar air which 
invade the southern half of South Africa in the winter. 

Frost does occur, however, but apart from light frost (less than 37 F) which may occur from May to August, the period during which ordinary 
frosts (less than 32 F) may be expected is less than 30 days per year. Frost in the Lowveld is generally associated with the collection of 
cold air in the valleys during the night when, in an atmosphere that is exceedingly dry, rapid radiation takes place. Frosts are, therefore, 
generally limited to specific localities and do not blanket the country on the scale found in the Highveld. 

Summer in the Lowveld is generally very hot. At Komatipoort the mean January temperature is 81.0 F but this decreases westwards so that White River, Nelspruit and Barberton are as much as 6 to 8 F cooler. Nevertheless, temperatures of over 95 F can be expected for one or two days in January and February. 

Both mean annual rainfall and the duration of the wet season increase from east to west. Most of the Lowveld below 2000 feet receives from 20 to 30 inches per annum but its effectiveness is reduced by high evaporation in summer. In the north, along the Olifants river it falls to 
less than 20 inches. Between 2000 and 4000 feet, 30 to 40 inches is received though in the lower transverse basins of the Crocodile, De Kaap and the Komati River valleys, the amount is less than 30 inches. Along the Great Escarpment and in the Barberton Mountain Land there is a sharp increase to over 60 inches.

Throughout the region, 95% of the rainfall is received during the summer six months, October to March, but the month of Maximum precepitation is either January or February. Moist air masses from the Indian Ocean move in over the Region, high summer temperatures cause atmospheric instability and much of the rainfall is, therefore, in the form of thunderstorms. The topographic irregularity of the Region is responsible for innumerable examples of rapid changes in amounts of rainfall - high or seaward-facing localities receiving as much as 40 inches more in places, only a few miles away, which lie in the lee of some obscuring spur or mountain.

The climate of the Lowveld displays characteristics not unlike those of monsoon regions. The winter months, June, July, and August are, for 
example, very dry, most places receiving less than .5 inches per month. Temperatures begin to rise rapidly towards the end of August until 
the summer rains arrive in mid-October it is possible in the dry atmosphere for individual temperatures to reach over 100 F on one or two days during both October and November. In fact, the highest absolute maximum temperatures in the Region have been recorded during the months of September, October and November. With the onset of rains, an increase in the cloud amount and a fall in excessively high temperatures brings a noticeable amount of relief. Summer conditions remain hot, however, until March after which the temperature drops more rapidly and rainfall decreases sharply. Mean monthly temperatures fall by about 10 F between April and July and clear, sunny days, during which 70-80% of the possible sunshine is received, are characteristic of the winter months. 

Hail is particularly destructive of crops in many parts of South Africa but the occurance of very severe hailstorms in the Lowveld is comparatively rare. Hailstorms of average severity may be expected in the region during the summer months. 

Winds blow mainly from the east but their actual destination varies from place to place according to local topographic effects. Gales are, however, rare and damage to crops from this source is insignificant. Further, the hot and dry Berg wind which blows from the South Africa plateau and is strongest in the western portion of the sub-continent is not a phenomenon characteristic of the Mpumalanga Lowveld. 


  :: Weather Links

http://www.weathersa.co.za - Forecasts etc. from South Africa Weather Online

http://weather.iafrica.com/metrocast/nelspruit/index.htm - Weather forecasts for Nelspruit

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