Have the mountains of Aqaba ever witnessed snowfall and accumulation throughout history?

Weather of Arabia - Aqaba is the only coastal city in Jordan. Aqaba is located in the far south of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the Red Sea coast, and it is the center of Aqaba Governorate.

Due to Aqaba’s geographical location, it is considered a low-altitude area due to its location on the coast, and therefore its climate is characterized by hot and very hot weather in summer and moderate weather in winter. Rain also falls on the city of Aqaba in winter, but in small quantities due to its geographical location, which is considered far from the centers of low air pressure. It is usually closer to the north of the Kingdom.

Snowfall in the city of Aqaba is considered a rare occurrence due to its coastal location on the Gulf of Aqaba. In order for snow to fall in the city of Aqaba, the region needs to be affected by a polar depression with very low temperatures.

Looking at the terrain surrounding the city of Aqaba, we find that it is surrounded by several mountain ranges extending from Aqaba to the south of Wadi Araba, Al-Quwairah, and Wadi Al-Yatam. From a geological standpoint, they are called “granite rocks,” which are acidic subterranean igneous rocks according to the classification of rocks. The height of some of these mountains near the city reaches 300 metres. Sea level, and in a rare incident, snow fell on these mountains in the year 2013 when the Kingdom was affected by an air depression of polar origin, as the highlands adjacent to the Gulf of Aqaba witnessed rare snowfall on the morning of Friday 12/13/2013, so that the white color appeared clearly and clearly on the mountains from the city’s neighborhoods. .

Snow also fell on the mountains of Aqaba during the winter season of 1992, which witnessed several snowfalls, the heaviest of which was at the end of February of the same year.