Saudi Gazette

Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Saudis are bracing for the strongest cold wave called “Bard Al-Ansaf”, which is expected to peak this Wednesday and Thursday, experts said. “During this period the temperatures will fall to 7 degrees Celsius in most parts of the Kingdom while some northern regions will witness sub-zero temperatures,” one weather expert said. Hussain Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the General Authority of Meteorology and Environmental Protection, ruled out possibility of snowfalls during this extreme winter season. “Forecasts indicate that all regions of the Kingdom will be hit by extreme cold waves with a sharp fall in temperature with the northern regions witnessing sub-zero temperatures,” he said. Dr. Abdullah Al-Musnad, professor of geography at Qassim University, said the Kingdom has entered the period of “Bard Al-Ansaf,” when the cold spell reaches its peak. He said there would be substantial drops in temperatures in the Kingdom’s northern regions while cold waves would hit the central and eastern regions from Tuesday. “Cold waves will reach the extreme level on Wednesday and Thursday,” Al-Musnad said while speaking to Al-Hayat Arabic daily. Weather experts said all regions of the Kingdom would be in the grip of a cold wave from Tuesday with daytime temperatures falling below 7 degrees Celsius. However, there would be minor differences in temperatures of various regions. Temperatures will go down further at night with the winter season reaching its peak during the next two weeks as a result of cold winds blowing from the Siberian desert, Al-Musnad said. “There will be strong dusty surface winds in the next 72 hours with low horizontal visibility on expressways as a result of the movement of a cold mass from the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea along with a flow of warm currents from the Red Sea,” he explained.