Arab Countries | In a rare event.. Rain and lightning visit the driest Arab regions for the first time in 100 years

Arab Weather - Weather forecasters at the "Arab Weather" Center are following the latest developments in the tropical activity affecting southeastern Libya and southern Egypt at the present time, as these areas are rarely affected by unusual summer rains due to the tropical break advancing more towards the region in an unusual way.

Weather forecasters at the Arab Weather Center said that the Libyan desert and southern Egypt are among the driest regions in the world, and it is rare for these regions to experience rain or the formation of cumulonimbus clouds accompanied by lightning and thunder throughout the year. This is due to their geographical location, which imposes a drier climate on them, as the annual rainfall rate in these regions is very low or almost non-existent.

Several days ago, Arab Weather experts indicated in several previously published reports that the tropical break is approaching southern Libya and Egypt, and it is expected that these areas will witness the influx of large amounts of tropical moisture, which may result in the formation of thunderclouds accompanied by thunder and lightning and heavy rains that sometimes exceed annual rates dramatically, as the annual rainfall rate there does not exceed half a millimeter annually, while it is expected that tens of millimeters of rain will fall in the coming days.

Read also: Arab World | The tropical break affects 9 Arab countries with heavy rains and storms and rains down on the skies of the driest regions in the world

Egypt | Tropical break unusually affects southern country, causing heavy rains and hail

According to a report published by NASA, a map showing the average number of annual lightning flashes per square kilometer based on data previously collected by NASA satellites, showing the places where less than one lightning flash (on average) occurred each year in gray, and the places where the largest number of lightning strikes occur are indicated in dark red. It is noted that the regions of southeastern Libya and Egypt are among the areas that receive the least amount of lightning flashes annually.

Below is a map from the Arab Weather Center, showing the current lightning intensity that includes the regions of southeastern Libya and southern Egypt in an exceptional and rare event that has not occurred for at least 100 years, as the maps affiliated with Arab Weather show the lightning intensity there:

Watch the horn radar here

According to global reports, lightning strikes occur much more often over land than over the ocean because the daily sun's rays heat the Earth's surface faster than over the ocean, and thus the air in contact with the Earth's surface heats up very quickly. The hot air increases the convection needed for thunderstorms and lightning to occur. Lightning strikes occur more near the equator than at the poles because of the lower solar radiation falling on the poles and the weaker convection there.