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Sunday 22 January 2012

SNOW IN THE SAHARA DESERT


Snowstorm in Algeria, January 2012.
Storm brings snow to Sahara Desert
BECHAR, Algeria, 18 January 2012 - Snow fell Tuesday in the Sahara Desert in western Algeria.

A 24-hour cold spell brought snow and rain to the region.

Strong wind blew the snow across roads and buildings in the province of Bechar.

Meteorologists predicted a return of good weather Wednesday.

People who live in the region said the snow was good for the palm trees because it killed parasites.

Bechar is located in the northern Sahara, about 36 miles south of the Moroccan border.

[Source: 9News.com.]
Watch the video below:

Source: 9News.com and YouTube

This was however not the first occurrence. A snowstorm descended on Northern Africa on January 26 and 27, 2005, leaving parts of Algeria and Morocco white with snow. Still, it was a rare storm - the worst in over 50 years - which brought chaos to the roadways of the normally arid region. See the image below as reported by NASA.

NASA image of snowstorm in Algeria and Morroco, January 2005.

According to another report:
Thus the snow this past week is not unprecedented, but is unusual.  However, these extreme events are worth examining in detail to assess the variability and the presence (if any) of multi-decadal trends of these north Africa snowfall events.

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