Get those buckets ready. Rain is forecast for the Cape!

And now for the good news – rain is forecast this weekend for the drought-ravaged Western Cape.

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille warned this week that preparations were underway for “Day Zero”‚ when taps run dry in the Mother City.

But for residents facing ever-tightening water restrictions the approaching wet weather spell will be a welcome respite.

The South African Weather Service said on Friday that there was a 60% chance of intermittent rainfall for most parts of the province from Saturday.

“Rainfall is expected for the Western Cape on Saturday‚ clearing up by Wednesday‚” said forecaster Victoria Nurse.

Heavy rainfall was expected between Plettenberg Bay and Cape Agulhas‚ she said.

Weather SA tweeted: “Strong and gusty winds (65-75km/h) are expected in places over the Cape metropole and surrounding coastal areas between Table Bay and Hermanus from this afternoon (Friday)‚ subsiding early Sunday morning.”

Severe thunderstorms were forecast over the south-western parts of KwaZulu-Natal and northern parts of the Eastern Cape from as early as Friday afternoon.

Weather SA tweeted: “Severe thunderstorms over Umzimkhulu and Ntabankulu local municipalities‚ moving south-eastwards towards Mhlontlo LM.”