KEURBOOMS RIVER: Climate

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Map of the KEURBOOMS River

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TEMPERATURE
The Keurbooms catchment (1 380 km2) has an all-year, warm, temperate climate.  (Ref 1)
The heat of summer is tempered by cool sea breezes. Temperatures occasionally rise above 38°C during hot “berg wind” conditions (Ref. 1).
Winds blowing along the coast, can at times, especially in spring, be unpleasantly strong, whilst the interior, mainly in late summer, experience berg winds.  The average occurrence of berg winds is one to three per month (Ref. 3).
    RAINFALL                                    
The Keurbooms catchment falls within in a climatic region, which receives rain almost equally in all seasons, with peaks in autumn and spring.  Rainfall in the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma Mountains may exceed 1100mm /annum, with on average 8 to 12 rainy days per month.  The mean annual rainfall of the Keurbooms catchment is 811mm (Ref. 11).   The rain is mainly cyclonic and orographic.
The mean annual rainfall ranges from 664–997 mm in the different subcatch-ments and is distributed throughout the year (Ref. 11).

The Outeniqua Mountains are occasionally snow-capped in winter and spring.

  References                                      

Ref 1:Duvenhage, I.R. and Morant, P.D. (1984). Estuaries of the Cape Part II: Synopses of available information on individual systems.  Report No. 31 Keurbooms/Bitou System (CMS 19) Piesang (CMS18).  CSIR Research Report 430. 64pp.

Ref 11:  Le Maitre , D.C. ; van Wilgen, B.W.; Gelderblom, C.M.; Bailey, C. Chapman, R.A.; and Nel, J.A. (2002).  Invasive alien trees and water resources in South Africa : case studies of the costs and benefits of management. Forest Ecology and Management 160: 143–159.

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