Odd, Huge September Snow Slams Parts Of South Africa Of All Places

Unusual heavy snows in South Africa stranded hundreds
if not thousands of people on a major highway over
the weekend. 

 A bizarre snowstorm struck some high country in South Africa between Johannesburg and Durban Saturday, trapping perhaps thousands of motorists on a major highway.  

As much as six feet of snow quickly piled up in the weekend storm.

At least one person was reported dead from hypothermia, and there were reports of people trapped in cars who were  running out of fuel and food. 

Rescue workers with blankets and food were trying to reach the motorists amid forecasts of more snow. 

Some people were stranded in vehicles for nearly two days. 

The highway was reopened and traffic was moving again Monday, but motorists were advised to drive slowly, and avoid the snowy area during the night for now. 

Snow does sometimes fall in some high elevations of South Africa but it's exceptionally rare to see something this deep and widespread.

In areas where the snow was not as deep and dangerous, people drove for hours for the rare opportunity to see snow.

The snowstorm was caused by a cut off low pressure system, meaning it was cut off from the jet stream, enabling it to meander around South Africa, dumping heavy precipitation. 

The storm was well-warned, but South Africa doesn't have the infrastructure in place to deal with big snowstorms, since they're relatively rare, reports TimesLive.

Snow does occasionally hit parts of South Africa, even in September when spring is just beginning to arrive in the Southern Hemisphere. However, the snow in this event was much more intense than almost all past storms.