If you think this week’s winter mornings have been tough, spare a thought for Joburg residents who woke up on this day in 1979.

On 13 June 1979, the city recorded its coldest official temperature ever — a teeth-chattering minus 8.2°C.

While Johannesburg winters are famous for icy mornings, frosty windscreens, and the daily debate over whether wearing a blanket to work should be socially acceptable, that record-breaking day remains in a league of its own.

Al Prodgers has been looking back at some of South Africa’s coldest corners — and the stories behind them…

Listen to his report on HOT 1027 News below:

While Joburg may have bragging rights for that historic freeze, it’s not the coldest place in the country.

Sutherland in the Northern Cape is widely known as South Africa’s coldest town on average, thanks to its high altitude and famously freezing winter nights.

But the country’s most extreme cold has been recorded further east, in the Stormberg region of the Eastern Cape — an area known for bitter winter conditions and heavy frost.

Then there’s the wonderfully named Klappertand farm near Dullstroom in Mpumalanga.

The Afrikaans name translates to “chattering teeth” — a fitting title for a place where temperatures regularly remind residents that South African winters can pack a serious punch.

The area is also home to a railway siding called “Tuisbly”, meaning “stay at home”.

As the story goes, a local farmer repeatedly missed the train because he could never quite figure out the timetable. Eventually, the siding earned its unusual name because he never seemed to get anywhere.

And as Joburg remembers the day the mercury dropped to minus 8.2°C, staying home under a warm blanket suddenly sounds like a very good idea.

References:

• Johannesburg climate records – lowest temperature
• South African cold weather records – Stormberg region