Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The National Center of Meteorology (NMC) revealed that the most intense cold wave that Saudi Arabia had ever witnessed was in 1992. The NMC's Hail station recorded the lowest ever temperature in January 1992 at -9.3 degree Celsius and an average of -4.4 degree Celsius, and that lasted for seven days.

The NMC stated that historically, the center's Hail and Al-Qurayyat stations topped the lowest temperatures between 1985 and 2023 during January, and that became the focus of the impact of strong winter cold waves in Saudi Arabia.

According to the forecast of NMC mercury will drop and snow will fall in the northern regions of Tabuk, Al-Jouf and Northern Borders during the current mid-winter school vacation. In a statement on its X account, the center said that moderate to heavy rains accompanied by dust-raising winds are expected in most regions of the Kingdom, including Tabuk, Makkah, Madinah, Al-Jouf, Northern Borders, Hail, Al-Qassim, Riyadh, Eastern Province and Al-Baha.

The cold weather is expected to continue and temperatures will drop in Tabuk, Al-Jouf, Northern Borders, Hail, Al-Qassim, Riyadh, Eastern Province and Madinah.

The NMC statement added that fog is expected to form during the night and early morning hours in parts of the regions of Tabuk, Al-Jouf, Northern Borders, Hail, Al-Qassim, Riyadh, Eastern Province and the highlands of the regions of Asir, Jazan, Al-Baha and Makkah.

Meanwhile, Aqeel Al-Aqeel, weather analyst at the Meteorology Department, said that temperatures will be below zero in some northern regions of Saudi Arabia and 2 degrees Celsius in the capital city of Riyadh during the coming two days. "In the suburbs of Riyadh and Madinah, temperatures may reach 2 degrees Celsius. The most remarkable event in the weather during the mid winter vacation is the weather fluctuations featuring heavy rain and snowfall during the coming week," he said adding that snow is expected to fall on the highlands of the Tabuk region and the Northern Borders Region especially at the far northern edges of the Kingdom during the coming week.