{"id":150208,"date":"2022-01-21T17:36:48","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T17:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=150208"},"modified":"2022-01-21T17:36:48","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T17:36:48","slug":"saudi-deserts-blanketed-in-snow-and-ice-following-historic-hailstorm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/saudi-deserts-blanketed-in-snow-and-ice-following-historic-hailstorm\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi deserts blanketed in SNOW and ice following 'historic hailstorm'"},"content":{"rendered":"
Deserts in Saudi Arabia have been blanketed in snow and ice following an extremely rare ‘historical hailstorm’.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Snow and ice covered the dunes after temperatures dropped below freezing, prompting locals to enjoy the weather and have snowball fights.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabians flocked to Jabal al-Lawz, otherwise known as Almond Mountain, in the northwestern region of Tabuk, as snow covered the area.<\/p>\n
Each year, people head to the\u00a08464ft (2580 metre) mountain when snow falls and set up tents and picnics to experience the cold weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Deserts in Saudi Arabia have been blanketed in snow and ice following an extremely rare ‘historical hailstorm’. Pictured: People gather in Badr Governorate, southwest of the city of Medina on January 11<\/p>\n
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People gather in Badr Governorate, southwest of the city of Medina on January 11. Long queues of cars could be seen (right)\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Saudi Arabians flocked to Jabal al-Lawz, otherwise known as Almond Mountain, in the northwestern region of Tabuk, as snow covered the area on January 17<\/p>\n
Recent snowfall and hailstorms in the region has meant the\u00a0the usually golden coloured dunes are now covered with white snow.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabians gathered in Jabal al-Lawz on Monday, with some melting snow to make coffee as they enjoyed their picnics, while others had snowball fights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Saudi photographer Osama Al-Habri captured aerial footage of people gathering in Badr Governorate, southwest of the city of Medina on January 11, to experience the unusual sight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cars could be seen queueing along the roads, as hundreds gathered in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Al-Harbi told CNN\u00a0that a ‘historic hailstorm’ has prompted the desert to be blanketed in thick snow and ice.<\/p>\n
The photographer told the news outlet that the area was filled with visitors who had travelled for miles to see the icy landscape.<\/p>\n
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Saudis melt snow for coffee in Jabal al-Lawz (Mountain of Almonds), west of the Saudi city of Tabuk on January 17<\/p>\n
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Saudis play in the snow in Jabal al-Lawz (Mountain of Almonds), west of the Saudi city of Tabuk on January 17<\/p>\n
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Earlier this month, Saudi photographer Osama Al-Habri captured aerial footage of people gathering in Badr Governorate, southwest of the city of Medina on January 11, to experience the unusual sight.\u00a0Al-Harbi told CNN that a ‘historic hailstorm’ has prompted the desert to be blanketed in thick snow and ice<\/p>\n
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Saudis visit the snow covered Jabal al-Lawz (Mountain of Almonds), west of the Saudi city of Tabuk on January 17<\/p>\n
https:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=205lLe4xm08%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1<\/p>\n
Last year in January, locals and foreigners alike flocked to the desert in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia to enjoy the snowfall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While snowfall in the desert is rare, it is not impossible. High pressure systems of cold air can move over land to the deserts, causing lower temperatures.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Such anticyclones tend to reach Saudi Arabia by moving clockwise out from Central Asia, picking up moisture en route which cools to form snow.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
SNOW falls in the SAHARA: Ice blankets the dunes in rare desert phenomenon after temperatures plummeted overnight<\/span><\/p>\n By Jack Newman for MailOnline<\/span><\/p>\n Snow has settled on the sand of the Sahara Desert after temperatures dropped below freezing.<\/p>\n Ice blanketed the dune in the rare phenomenon in the largest desert in the world, where temperatures of 136.4F (58C) have been recorded.\u00a0<\/p>\n Photographer Karim Bouchetata captured stunning images of the snow and ice in the town of Ain Sefra in northwestern Algeria yesterday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Snow has fallen on the sand in the Sahara Desert after temperatures dropped below freezing overnight, creating stunning landscapes<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ice blanketed the dune in the unusual phenomenon in the largest hot desert in the world, where temperatures of 58C have been recorded<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photographer Karim Bouchetata took pictures of the snow and ice in the town of Ain Sefra in northwestern Algeria yesterday<\/p>\n Overnight, the mercury in the Algerian town is currently plummeting to -2C (28F).<\/p>\n The ice created stunning patterns in the sand after the area saw a sprinkling of snow fall unexpectedly.<\/p>\n The dusting of snow is the fifth time in 42 years that the town has seen snow, with previous occurrences in 1979, 2016, 2018 and 2021.<\/p>\n Ain Sefra – known as The Gateway to the Desert – is around 3,000ft above sea level and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Overnight, the mercury in the Algerian town is currently plummeting to -2C (28F) as snow continues to be dumped on the dunes<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The ice created stunning patterns in the sand after the area saw a sprinkling of snow fall unexpectedly<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The dusting of snow is the fifth time in 42 years that the town has seen snow, with previous occurrences in 1979, 2016, 2018 and 2021<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ain Sefra – known as The Gateway to the Desert – is around 3,000ft above sea level and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains<\/p>\n The Sahara Desert covers most of Northern Africa and it has gone through shifts in temperature and moisture over the past few hundred thousand years.<\/p>\n Although the Sahara is very dry today, it is expected to become green again in about 15,000 years.<\/p>\n Last year, camels were seen surrounded by snow as North Africa was gripped by extreme temperatures in the summer and winter months.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Last January also saw snow blanket the Saharan dunes (pictured) in the region which has only seen snow five times in 42 years<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sheep were seen standing on the ice-covered dunes in the Algerian Sahara in January 2021 as temperatures dipped below zero<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Residents of Saudi Arabia expressed joy and excitement over the rare snowfall in the country’s Aseer region last year<\/p>\n Snow and ice are unusual in desert regions but not completely unknown.<\/p>\n Temperatures in deserts can drop dramatically overnight but any snowfall is usually melted early the following day.<\/p>\n In cases like those seen this month in Algeria, high pressure systems of cold air have moved over land to the deserts, causing lower temperatures.<\/p>\n Such anticyclones tend to reach Saudi Arabia by moving clockwise out from Central Asia, picking up moisture en route which cools to form snow.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n January 2022 and 2021 saw snow come to the Sahara and Saudi Arabia but it is not the first time these usually blisteringly hot spots have been blanketed in white.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2018, Ain Sefra was dusted in snow for the third time in 40 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n The phenomenon has been noted in the town in 2021, 2018 and 2017, with the last recorded snowfall before that being in 1979.<\/p>\n Temperatures in the town usually range from 12C in January, the coldest month, to nearer to 40C in July.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the Asir region of Saudi Arabia had its first snowfall in half a century last January, snow has hit elsewhere in the desert kingdom in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2020, temperatures dipped below freezing in the country’s mountainous northwestern regions including Tabuk, as a blizzard prompted officials to warn residents to keep warm.<\/p>\n A year earlier, snow fell in April.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nHow common is snow in the desert?\u00a0<\/h3>\n