Snow in Middle East: Move over Jerusalem, Cairo, Amman, Damascus and Alkan Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam got snow too

I had reported to you about the massive snowstorm in the Middle East last week. It affected Egypt and Israel and nearby environs As I noted int he title, and photos are included below in the "Picture Postcards" news link. The false photo of the Sphinx notwithstanding, there were legitimate scenes of snow on palm trees in Cairo, where reportedly it hadn't snowed in over 100 years. In Jerusalem, snow was heavy and many motorists were stranded, and power went out for large sections of the nation. Snow in Cairo is rare, extremely so.

I had also reported a snowstorm in Australia. It's their summer in Oz, and snow, even in the mountains, is rare. This snowstorm was very rare because the snow was very heavy, and accumulated.

Here is a video of a three-mile traffic jam in Viet Nam, where snow is also, shall we say, rare. How rare? According to WikiAnswers, But only on top of their highest mountain (10318ft Fansipan Peak), and only on a few days each year. Furthermore, accumulations are typically not very heavy."

Yahoo reported,

Snow falls in Viet Nam
"Snow has fallen in Northern Vietnam for the first time in many years. The snow caused a five-hour traffic jam as people drove into the mountainous provinces of Lao Cai and Ha Giang to see the wintry flurries. The weather system responsible for the snow has also brought some unusual weather to other parts of the region. This is normally the dry season, but torrential rain has been lashing Laos, Vietnam and southeast China."

This article says "Tourtists flock to see rare snow"
"Officials of the Nui Xe Forest Management Station in the town's Hoang Lien National Park say the snowfall has led to constant traffic congestion on the road from Lao Cai City to Sa Pa, as thousands of tourists flock to the town to admire the rare sight. While it has been known for long that it snows in Sa Pa, this is not a common occurrence."

(Photo: VNS/VOV)

 Sa Pa is 4921 feet above sea level.

(Photo: VNS/VOV)

They have received 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) The record low for Sa Pa is 28 degrees F but the average low is 46F.

Post by Du Lịch Tây Bắc.

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Further reading

Dec 16, 2013: Jerusalem still paralyzed after snowstorm

Dec 15, 2013: Snowfall In Cairo: First time In More Than 100 Years
"Cairo isn’t looking like its normal self lately. That’s because Cairo has been completely transformed into a majestic-looking winter wonderland. That’s right, a storm in the Middle East gave the gift of snow this holiday marking it the first snowfall in over 100 years."

Dec 13, 2013: Rare Snow dazzles Cairo
"Cairo suburbs got snow for the first time in recent memory on Friday morning. Some estimate that it has been as long as 112 years since Egypt’s capital has seen snow. While the precise timeframe is unclear, many residents of the area captured the unusual meteorological event by posting photos of the dusting on Twitter."

Dec 16th 2013: Picture postcards
"The Middle East from Israel to Saudi Arabia saw a flurry of snow last week as bad weather moved across the region. Here is a selection of 13 photographs, including Palestinian children building snowmen and Syrian refugees suffering from the cold."

The snow really happened, the photos, of the Sphinx and the Pyramids, were faked.

Cairo Snow: Sphinx snow photo actually a fake
Cairo snow: Is this viral picture of snow on the pyramids ANOTHER fake?