The Green Mountain in northeastern Libya saw its first snowfall in 15 years this week as a cold wave swept through parts of the southern Mediterranean region, northern Africa, and the Middle East, including Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.
The rare snow started falling on Monday, February 15, which brought delight to residents as they enjoyed the wintry scenery.
Mohammed Saleh, a resident from Bayda, believes that the snowfall is an omen for peace in Libya. "We hope the snowfall will be a good sign for our homeland by unifying our institutions and unifying our country and for people to return to one another and love each other."
He continued, "As we see now, the children, people, and families that came to this area, the area of Sidi Mohamed Al-Hamri."
Ali Al-Shairi, another Bayda Resident, captured the winter wonderland and said he was "surprised by the number of families who came here to take pictures in the snow."
According to the Libyan National Meteorological Center, temperatures below freezing point were recorded in several cities on Monday, including Al-Bayda, Yefren, Nalut, Al-Marj, Green Mountain, and the Nafusa Mountain.
In neighboring Egypt, the cold snap brought freezing rain, strong winds, and mist. While the spell had no remarkable impact on road traffic, officials closed a number of ports in Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheik. Fishing activities were also suspended, as a precautionary measure.
Ice pellets were reported in Alexandria, Beheira, and Port Said, with some parts slicked with snow, according to the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA).
Heavy snow was experienced as well over parts of the Middle East, including Syria, Lebanon, and Israel since Tuesday, February 16, paralyzing citizens' daily lives.
Local media said the snow has already blocked some of the roads in Syria, including in capital Damascus, and disrupted traffic on Wednesday, February 17. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported snow as high as 15 cm (6 inches) in Um Houran area in Dahir al-Jabal.
Featured image credit: @MedWave Shipping Libya
Source: https://watchers.news/2021/02/18/libya-sees-first-snow-in-15-years-...


Multiple storms can be seen across the United States on this satellite image taken on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. One storm lingered over the Southeast states as a storm pushed from the Rockies to the central Plains. A third storm can be seen along the Pacific coast in the Northwest. (CIRA at Colorado State/GOES-East)
The snow in this 1,500-mile-long swath will be light and fluffy due to the Arctic air in place. This type of snow can be highly subject to blowing and drifting in a mere breeze amid the frigid conditions.
Milder air will cause a wintry mix that includes some ice to develop from portions of middle Tennessee to southern Ohio and southwestern West Virginia as well as from northwestern North Carolina to much of Virginia. The icy mix will expand over the Interstate-95 corridor and coastal areas of the East from central Maryland to southeastern New England.
A change to plain rain is most likely along much of the I-95 corridor, but precipitation is likely to start out as a period of ice at the onset in the mid-Atlantic and across southern New England, according to Rayno.
Should the layer of cold air be deeper as the secondary storm develops along the coast, then snow may fall farther to the south in the Northeast states. Precipitation could change from ice or rain to snow along part of I-95 on Tuesday in that case.
In a case of atmospheric deja vu, yet another storm may dip southward over the Central states with snow and ice during the middle of next week, grab Gulf of Mexico moisture and head northeastward later next week.

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