Saudi Arabia weather update: Afif desert sees rare snowfall

Located west of Riyadh, the Afif desert was surprisingly covered in snow on Friday after heavy rain and hail.

This unexpected surprise amazed both residents of the desert and social media users, who began sharing videos and images of the area to express their excitement, Gulf News reported.

The snowfall came as weather maps and computer simulations forecast a new weather system to begin on Sunday in Saudi Arabia.

“This system is anticipated to bring widespread rainfall to the Kingdom, along with thunderstorms, hail, and dust-stirring winds,” the publication reported.

Arabia Weather reported that there are chances of rain on Monday and Tuesday as a depression was approaching the north of the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, in the UAE, the weather is expected to be partly cloudy to cloudy at times over the island regions and some coastal and Northern areas, Khaleej Times reported, citing the National Centre of Meteorology.

There is also a probability of light rainfall on Saturday.