Snow blizzards sweep Holy Land
February 8, 2005
Snow showers, heavy rain and high winds gripped the Holy Land and Middle East
countries on Tuesday, paralyzing life in some areas but also bringing welcome
relief to drought-hit regions.
Snow fell in the Jordanian capital and most regions of the desert kingdom,
blocking off several roads into Amman, where schools kept their doors shut and
police advised residents to stay indoors.
The rainfall was seen by many as a godsend in Jordan, which has been declared
one of the world's 10 driest countries. As in other countries of the region, no
casualties were reported.
Snow fell on Jerusalem for the first time this winter as well as in northern
Israel. The cold snap brought heavy snowfall on the Golan Heights, where schools
had to be closed for the day.
In Iran, parts of the north of the country and Tehran were paralyzed after being
hit by several days of record snowfall, with dozens of flights canceled and key
roads also cut off.
State media said up to 1.5 metres (five feet) of snow had fallen in the north
over the past few days, the heaviest in at least 10 years.
"After years of drought in some parts of the country, we are witnessing
good snowfall," Ali-Mohammad Nourian, the head of Iran's metrological
organization, told state television.
"This blessing from God" coincides with celebrations to mark the
anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, he said.
The weather service in Lebanon said the high winds and storms, which descended
on the region at the weekend, was expected to ease on Wednesday.
Snow blanketed Mount Lebanon from an altitude of 700 metres (about 2,300 feet)
and the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, with snowploughs busy at work to try to
keep open the Beirut-Damascus highway.
Temperatures plunged to minus 9 degrees Celsius (16 Fahrenheit) at night in the
Bekaa and to six degrees (43 Fahrenheit) in the Lebanese capital.
Heavy snow and rain fell in Syria for a fifth straight day, raising water levels
in the country's reservoirs. The heaviest showers hit the Hama region of
northwest Syria.
SOURCE: Drudge Report