SAKAKA, Saudi Arabia – A rural region in northern Saudi Arabia was blanketed in hail, giving the desert landscape a rare coat of white and mimicking a winter wonderland.

The National Meteorological Center of Saudi Arabia reported The weather event occurred on November 2 in the Al-Jouf region, near the Jordanian border.

Photos of the desert showed the ground covered in ice with vehicles and even camels having to venture through the frozen precipitation.

According to the country’s National Weather Service, the region receives most of its precipitation between October and May, preparing the region for the spring growing season.

“The Al-Jouf region is known for its seasonal wildflowers in spring, including lavender, daisies and a variety of aromatic plants,” the Saudi Press Agency said in a statement.

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Temperatures likely peaked in the 70s and 80s on the day of the hailstorm, excluding snowfall, according to nearby observation data.

No damage was reported by the thunderstormsbut meteorologists have warned of the potential for flooding.

Some people seem to have mistakenly referred to hailstones as snow, which usually only happens during the rainy season. winter month.

Hail incidents are considered more common in the north and west of the country due to cooler air at higher altitudes.

Hail forms when strong updrafts of wind, usually found in the core of thunderstorms, carry raindrops upward. These winds push raindrops toward the upper, colder regions of the storm, where they freeze and turn into hailstones.

Like the hail begins to fall, they collect additional raindrops on their way through the atmosphere. If they encounter additional updrafts, the hailstones are released into the clouds, where additional layers of water freeze.

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The nearby mountain of Jabal Al-Lawz, located in the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia, has an elevation of 8,460 feet and occasionally supports snowfall.

According to forecasters, snow appears from December to February, but due to the terrain, the snow melts relatively quickly.

It is said that the Kingdom is building a state-of-the-art ski resort in the Tabuk mountainswhich will depend on artificial snowfall during the colder months.

Original article source: Photos: Hail covers the Saudi desert, creating a winter landscape