Early snow decorated several areas in the eastern Mediterranean with the last days of the autumn season, climatically.

Arab Weather - The countries of the eastern Mediterranean were affected in the last week of November, which coincides with the last week of autumn according to the meteorological calendar, by a very cold Siberian air mass that passed over few water bodies. This was accompanied by some rainfall that turned into snow on the high mountainous elevations in Syria, Lebanon and northern Iraq, as this snow temporarily extended to lower elevations that included neighborhoods of the capital, Damascus, which is not an early weather event considering that we are still in the autumn season.

Autumn snow covers the mountainous heights of Syria and Lebanon, adorning them with a white cloak.

In detail, the very cold Siberian air mass that recently affected the region was accompanied by severe cold in the different layers of the atmosphere, especially those close to the Earth's surface, which caused snow to fall at intervals and accumulate quickly over the peaks of the high mountains in Syria and Lebanon. The snow covered the heights of the Syrian coast and temporarily extended with the late night hours and dawn of Tuesday, November 26, 2024 to lower altitudes that included the Damascus countryside in Syria as a result of the very cold air mass being concentrated over Syrian territory.

Heavy snow on the highlands of the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq

The impact of the Siberian cold wave also extended to Iraq, and the northern highlands of the Kurdistan Region witnessed heavy snowfall on the mountain peaks in the border areas adjacent to Turkish and Iranian territories, including the Dohuk highlands and the Haji Omaran area. The snow was unusually heavy and early for this time of year, as many mountain peaks were adorned with a white robe before the onset of winter from a meteorological perspective.

Freezing rain showers on the northern peaks of Jordan

The media team at the Arab Weather Center monitored, with the peak of the Siberian air mass, freezing rain showers on the northern peaks, specifically in the upper Jerash Governorate. (Freezing rain is a phenomenon that occurs when raindrops fall from clouds at low altitudes where temperatures are below zero degrees Celsius, but they remain liquid due to the presence of a warm air layer between the clouds and the Earth's surface. When these drops reach the very cold Earth's surface, they freeze immediately, leading to the formation of a layer of ice on the surfaces.)

Does the early Siberian cold wave herald a bitterly cold winter in the eastern Mediterranean?

Although the cold snap was very early for the time of year, it is not a sure sign of a particularly cold winter. Looking back at the climate record, there is no definitive correlation between an early cold snap and a colder-than-usual winter. Early cold snaps are the result of certain weather systems that bring cold air masses down from Siberia, but they do not provide a definitive indication of the overall winter weather pattern, which extends over several months.