Unusual hailstorm hits the Saudi desert, turning it white for a day

The Saudi Arabian desert has become almost a winter landscape due to an unprecedented hail storm in places usually arid and devoid of precipitation. A phenomenon generated once again by the "cold drop" phenomenon

A rare and spectacular event recently hit the Saudi Arabian desert, briefly turning it into an almost wintry landscape. An unprecedented hailstorm struck the northern part of the country, particularly the Al-Jawf region, blanketing large swaths of desert in white and eliciting surprise and curiosity both domestically and around the world.

Images that went viral in social media showed an arid desert landscape with a layer of ice atop-the most uncommon sight for this area known for extreme climate and lack of rain.

Cause: a “cold drop” phenomenon

The hailstorm was due to a “cold drop“-a specific weather phenomenon where a low-pressure system becomes disconnected from the general flow of weather and remains stationary over an area, bringing with it peculiar weather. A good recent example of the possible impact of such an incident was critical flooding of the Valencia region in Spain.

How it happened

In this case, the cold drop developed between the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, and Syria, transporting arctic air right from Russia. As this cold air was advected over the warm ground temperatures of the desert below, the mass of air turned into violent thunderstorms with heavy hail. This gave a sharp thermal contrast, yielding great instability in the atmosphere.

Effects overflowed into other Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon and Israel, which were in turn plagued by flash floods and heavy rains; these are the various types of rainfall for which these regions are not known or designed. While rare, it’s not impossible even in an area as arid and hot as the Arabian Desert.

While in the recently taken place in Spain, the cold drop due to the DANA phenomenon can take place in several different geographical territories, the consequences would turn into extreme weather events in traditionally arid places.

Climate monitoring: a necessity

This episode very strongly establishes the role of climate monitoring even over areas where extreme weather conditions do not frequently or commonly occur. The ever-evolving meteorological situation demands efficient alert systems and necessary preparation to cope with such sudden changes.

Events like the hailstorm in the Arabian Desert serve as notice that, in times of global warming and climatic changes, forecasting capabilities are very much called for, even in regions apparently far removed from such extreme weather. It gives warning for the future, a lesson not to take the ongoing climatic shifts so lightly, and the damage it could possibly cause across the globe.