Snow!

Welcome to the seven mountains of Amman. Last report featured a hot spring day, this one will highlight snow, hail, wind, and lot of rain. On Wednesday, a cold front rolled in. Rumour had it that it might bring snow on Thursday. I didn’t believe it. Come on, I was Amman for God’s sake. Right?

Wrong.

I got was texted at 8:15, telling me that work was off due to the weather. What weather exactly, I wondered? I looked out of my window, seeing a light dusting of snow and some rain. Not the weather to walk around in your shorts, but definitely not the weather to cancel a whole day of productivity either. But as I wandered out to get breakfast, it started to snow more heavily. Some random observations.

• With heavy rain or snow, Ammani public life stops. Shops close, offices close, ministries close.
• With heavy rain or snow, Ammani streets become rivers. Where’s the drainage? I’m wading here, guys.
• Kids make snow men from an inch of snow. It’s an art, I guess.
• Drivers tend to stay off the streets in bad weather. Those still driving are taxis or just plain mad.

It didn’t snow that much during the day. Mainly wet snow, disappearing on the roads creating mud. But at sunset, the show started. Roads become ice skating rinks, the snow thickened and you could see cars skidding in turns. Then in the morning, it was all gone, like nothing had happened. In conclusion, another nice surprise in Amman.

Check out the Flickr box on the right for photos.