The incoming lanes of De Waal Drive and the upper portion of Roeland Street in Cape Town were closed due to heavy rains that hit the city today.

The city's Disaster Risk Management Department received many reports of flooded roads as the cold front moving in over Cape Town began to unleash its fury.

The department's operations centre staff said that calls from the public began flooding in as the rain intensified. At the time of going to press, De Waal Drive, towards the city, had to be closed when rain flooded parts of the road and dislodged mud and rocks from the mountain.

Mud and rocks also flowed down Roeland Street at about 10.30am and the street had to be closed to traffic. An operations centre staffer said callers mainly reported flooded roadways and that teams were dispatched to carry out assessments.

Disaster Risk Management head Greg Pillay earlier warned people to avoid piers and promenades on the Atlantic Seaboard, the False Bay coastline and the Strand/Gordon's Bay area due to wild sea conditions.

The well-developed cold front that hit the Western Cape today brought with it gales hitting speeds of more than 65km/h in some areas. The province's western areas can expect very cold, wet and windy conditions, and some snow might fall on the western high ground today and early tomorrow morning, the weather bureau at Cape Town International Airport reported.

The cold, fierce weather will abate towards the end of the week as the cold front moves into the interior. The centre said disaster response teams were on standby and would attend to emergencies.