Snowfall in the hot desert may seem like a contradiction, but snow has been recorded in the Sahara Desert several times over the past decades, most recently in January 2022.
As such, snowfall may be unusual, but not unprecedented in the region.
While the Sahara generally experiences very high temperatures, it also experiences low temperatures due to the bare ground and cloudless skies.
Winter air circulation patterns draw cool, moist air towards the northern Sahara from the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
This results in more winter precipitation in the Sahara margin this season.
Snow has blanketed many parts of South Africa over the past two days, with social media particularly highlighting the effects of a cold front that hit the southwestern and eastern Cape
Among the most impressive was a video taken near Uniondale, a small town in the Little Karoo district of the Western Cape, where a car can be seen making its way through a countryside that looks like a winter wonderland covered in thick snow
Hail, in some places the size of a golf ball, battered the city, bringing several drifts. Heavy downpours also caused significant flooding across the city with icy rivers.
Extremely cold air has been moving into Scandinavia for the past week. consequently, records of low temperatures are being broken throughout mainland Europe.
