Snow falls in Sahara Desert – first time in 37 years

From Wire and Twitter reports:

We know the northern hemisphere has been getting colder, for example we reported earlier this week that the USA was colder than any time last year with an average temperature of 16 degrees F. It isn’t just the USA, in northern Africa, reports suggest that it is only the second time in living memory that snow has fallen on the Sahara desert. The last record is for February 18, 1979, when the snow storm lasted just half an hour.

Snow falling on the Saharan mountain ranges is very rare, let alone on the sandy dunes of the continent’s largest desert.

sahara-snowfall
Photo by Karim Bouchetata of Meteo Algerie

Amateur photographer Karim Bouchetata says he took the incredible pictures of snow covering the sand in the small Saharan desert town of Ain Sefra, Algeria, on December 19. The unforgiving red dunes looked pristine and picturesque.

“It looked amazing as the snow settled on the sand and made a great set of photos. The snow stayed for about a day and has now melted away.” he added.

Quote via The India Times

https://twitter.com/MiltonWolfMD/status/811272816280686593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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Bruce Cobb
December 22, 2016 12:06 pm

Sure that isn’t butterscotch pudding with Cool Whip mixed in? Yum! Oh, and the dark spots could be chocolate chunks. Double-yum.

brians356
December 22, 2016 12:53 pm

“I can’t get over how cold it gets in the desert.”
George C. Scott (as “Gen. George S. Patton Jr.”)

Philip Mulholland
December 22, 2016 4:10 pm

On 7th January 2008 Météo Algérie published the following report:-

> La neige couvrant les monts du hoggar
>
>
> Le lundi 7 janvier 2008 est tombé à l’Assekrem ( 2700 m altitude) en
> plein cœur du Sahara, environ 3 cm de neige entre 13h40 et 15h20 TU. La
> neige a été observée sur tous les monts proches de l’Assekrem jusqu’au
> plateau de l’Akarakar. Le lendemain mardi 8 janvier, la neige était
> visible sur le mont de Tahat à partir de Tamanrasset. Cette situation a
> été accompagnée par des températures très basses avec -5.6°C de
> température minimum la nuit et une température maximale de + 2.7°C.A
> signaler que la veille, la journée du dimanche 6 janvier, un vent
> glacial a soufflé durant toute la journée sur la région avec des pointes
> de 25 m/s ( 100 km/h ).


Froid et Neige sur (Tamanrasset).

Snowfall on the Hoggar Mountains in the centre of the Sahara during January 2008 was not that long ago.
Assekrem Tamanrasset Province, Algeria

December 22, 2016 4:29 pm

I have one remaining prediction written in 2002:
Global cooling will commence by 2020-2030.
Maybe sooner.
Hope to be wrong.
Warm good.
Cold bad.
Best wishes for the Holidays, Allan

Reply to  Allan M R MacRae
December 22, 2016 4:55 pm

All my 8 other predictions from 2002 have since come true.
None of the warmists scary predictions have happened.

tony mcleod
Reply to  Allan M R MacRae
December 23, 2016 3:34 am

“Hope to be wrong.” I hope you’re right.
What were your predictions Allan?

Reply to  Allan M R MacRae
December 23, 2016 10:08 pm

Travelling on iPhone so references are not easily available.
We said:
The alleged global warming crisis was false;
Warmist alarmism would waste billions that shd be spent on real needs like clean potable water, etc.;
Warmist policies wd harm economies;
Green energy would not work – not green and produces little useful energy;
Manufacturing wd move to pollution havens like China;
Etc.

Reply to  Allan M R MacRae
December 24, 2016 9:36 pm

THE NEW ICE AGE HAS STARTED
http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/lawrence-solomon-proof-that-a-new-ice-age-has-already-started-is-stronger-than-ever-and-we-couldnt-be-less-prepared
“The New Little Ice Age Has Started.” This is the unambiguous title of a new study from one of the world’s most prestigious scientific institutions, the Russian Academy of Science’s Pulkovo Observatory in St. Petersburg. “The average temperature around the globe will fall by about 1.5 C when we enter the deep cooling phase of the Little Ice Age, expected in the year 2060,” the study states. “The cooling phase will last for about 45-65 years, for four to six 11-year cycles of the Sun, after which on the Earth, at the beginning of the 22nd century, will begin the new, next quasi-bicentennial cycle of warming.”
Habibullo Abdussamatov, the head of space research at Pulkovo and the author of the study, has been predicting the arrival of another little ice age since 2003, based on his study of the behaviour of the Sun’s different cycles and the solar activity that then results. His model — informed by Earth’s 18 earlier little ice ages over the past 7,500 years, six of them in the last thousand years — led to his prediction more than a decade ago that the next little ice age would occur between 2012 and 2015. Unlike the global warming models of scientists, which were soon disproved by actual measurements, Abdussamatov’s models have been affirmed by actual events, including the rise of the oceans and the measurable irradiance sent earthward by the sun. This record of accuracy — which he has repeatedly demonstrated in studies between 2003 and now — leads him to now confidently state that in 2014–15, we began our entry into the 19th Little Ice Age.
An underheated planet is a real threat humans have actually faced
Abdussamatov was once a lonely voice in the view that Earth could be embarking on a prolonged cooling spell due to solar, not manmade, factors. No longer. Because sunspots are eerily disappearing from the face of our sun — just as they disappeared during the Little Ice Age in the late 1600s — speculation of another cooling period has been widespread by bodies such as the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the Riken research foundation. Last year, a team of European researchers unveiled a scientific model at the National Astronomy Meeting in Wales predicting a “mini ice age” from 2030 to 2040 as a result of decreased solar activity.
For one thing, we can deep freeze dreams of economically exploiting the vast energy wealth of the Arctic Ocean, which geological surveys indicate is the richest in petroleum of all the oceans. The conventional belief that global warming would soon melt the Arctic, and make economic the large-scale infrastructure needed to operate in its inhospitable environment, had many in the oil industry — and in governments — gearing up to claim their share of this new frontier. Their dreams will now need to be set aside for the cold century ahead.

tony mcleod
Reply to  Allan M R MacRae
December 24, 2016 10:51 pm

Pretty disappointing list of “predictions” there Allan. looks like the only one that is correct is the “manufacturing moving to China” one – hardly a revelation.
Looks like a plunge is due…. any tick of the clock.comment image
What’s your prediction for Arctic sea ice in Sept? I’m going for ice free.comment image

tony mcleod
Reply to  Allan M R MacRae
December 24, 2016 11:05 pm

Habibullo Abdussamatov, the head of space research at Pulkovo and the author of the study, has been predicting the arrival of another little ice age since 2003, based on his study of the behaviour of the Sun’s different cycles and the solar activity that then results. His model — informed by Earth’s 18 earlier little ice ages over the past 7,500 years, six of them in the last thousand years — led to his prediction more than a decade ago that the next little ice age would occur between 2012 and 2015. Unlike the global warming models of scientists, which were soon disproved by actual measurements, Abdussamatov’s models have been affirmed by actual events, including the rise of the oceans and the measurable irradiance sent earthward by the sun. This record of accuracy — which he has repeatedly demonstrated in studies between 2003 and now — leads him to now confidently state that in 2014–15, we began our entry into the 19th Little Ice Age.
“predicting since 2003….that the next little ice age would occur between 2012 and 2015”
About as wrong as you could possibly be. Even more inaccurate than your own so called predictions Allan.
Something else from Habibullo:
Abdussamatov holds that Earth’s atmosphere does not produce a greenhouse effect, stating “Ascribing ‘greenhouse’ effect properties to the Earth’s atmosphere is not scientifically substantiated”.
.
Might be time for him to change focus.
BTW, please do not try the old El Nino dunnit excuse for the rapid rise in global temperature and melting of the sea ice.

2hotel9
Reply to  tony mcleod
December 25, 2016 4:47 am

The “globe” is not warming, sea ice melts each spring and refreezes each fall. Science, you try it in place of your kooky religion.

Reply to  Allan M R MacRae
December 25, 2016 6:35 pm

Utter nonsense by you Tony. And utterly predictable too.
Only scoundrels and imbeciles believe global warming alarmism.
[Please do not insult scoundrels and imbeciles in public by comparing them to fanatics about global warming. .mod]

tony mcleod
Reply to  Allan M R MacRae
December 27, 2016 5:24 am

Which bit exactly was nonsense Allan?

James at 48
December 22, 2016 6:55 pm

There has been some cold weather in Syria. The timing could not be worse.

jdmcl
December 22, 2016 11:06 pm

It’s been obvious for some time that the Global Warming story was just a “snow job”.

jdmcl
December 22, 2016 11:11 pm

Remember the song by UK group The Police, “Tea in the Sahara with you”? it will have to be rewritten as “T-bar in the Sahara with you”.

Simon
December 23, 2016 12:44 am

“We know the northern hemisphere has been getting colder,”
I am a bit puzzled by this. Does this statement mean this month, this year, this decade? According to the latest from NOAA it would be hard to convince anyone it is colder this year than last, or that the NH is cooling at all.
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201611

2hotel9
Reply to  Simon
December 23, 2016 3:38 am

Let me help you out here. The “globe” is not warming, humans are not destroying the “environment”, you are not all that important. Take a breath, sit down and wake up.

Simon
Reply to  2hotel9
December 23, 2016 7:27 am

You did look at the data/link before opening our mouth…. right?

2hotel9
Reply to  Simon
December 23, 2016 5:48 pm

Again, for the apparently terminally stupid.” Let me help you out here. The “globe” is not warming, humans are not destroying the “environment”, you are not all that important. Take a breath, sit down and wake up.” That means you, snowflake. Now toddle off to your “safe space” and buy a clue.

Simon
Reply to  2hotel9
December 24, 2016 12:31 am

“2hotel9 December 23, 2016 at 5:48 pm
Again, for the apparently terminally stupid.” Let me help you out here. The “globe” is not warming, humans are not destroying the “environment”, you are not all that important. Take a breath, sit down and wake up.” That means you, snowflake. Now toddle off to your “safe space” and buy a clue.”
So you didn’t read the information that clearly says you are wrong. And still you open your mouth and demonstrate to the world you have not a clue. And you call me stupid.

2hotel9
Reply to  Simon
December 24, 2016 3:59 am

You can believe whatever fantastical religious crap you want, that does not change reality. The “globe” is not warming, humans are not destroying the “environment”, you are not all that important. Get over yourself, everyone else is already over you.

2hotel9
Reply to  Simon
December 24, 2016 4:04 am

And want people to accept anything coming out of any governmental agency? Prosecute and jail all the scumbags who have been falsifying data and lying. That would be a start. Till then it is all just religious hokum.

Simon
Reply to  2hotel9
December 24, 2016 6:50 am

2hotel9
Mr Twit. I’m assuming that is your name as you signed off with it. No one mentioned religion. I think you will find your weird ideas are not supported by anyone in the field. You wont find a scientist who doesn’t accept the increasing of man made CO2 will result in increased temperatures. That includes skeptical ones. So go ahead stick you head in the sand Mr Twit…. but it wont change anything.

2hotel9
Reply to  Simon
December 24, 2016 7:27 am

Your silly religion is safe in my care, you can pray to Gaia as many times per day and facing whatever direction you please, we all just laugh at you. And again, since repetition appears to be the only way you figure anything out, the “globe” is not warming, humans are not destroying the “environment”, you are not all that important.Oh, and I guess we have to add that CO2 is not a pollutant, it is plant food, and the Sun drives temps, not your fantastical and silly little religious maunderings.

Simon
Reply to  2hotel9
December 24, 2016 9:56 am

2hotel9
How about you have a little lie down……

2hotel9
Reply to  Simon
December 24, 2016 11:41 am

Why are you such a frightened little man regarding your religion? So what that people laugh at you, its a free country and you can believe any fantastical religious crap you want. Please feel free to spew whatever nonsensical stupidity it pleases you to spew, all the rest of humanity will simply laugh and point at your mentally retarded blather. Really, the majority of us find it amusing, and come middle of January we will chuckle at you even more. So what? You entertain us, that should be enough for you.

2hotel9
Reply to  Simon
December 23, 2016 5:50 pm

Oh, and 0.0092 C is not “globall warmining”. Twit.

Simon
Reply to  2hotel9
December 24, 2016 12:35 am

2hotel9 December 23, 2016 at 5:50 pm
Oh, and 0.0092 C is not “globall warmining”. Twit.
Ha ha where did you get that figure from for your “globall warmining”. T
Let me guess…. from the “globall warmining” D team handbook no doubt. Why don’t you do yourself a favour and actually read the information produced by those who know what they are talking about …. not from the back of your cereal box. Twit!!!!!

tony mcleod
Reply to  2hotel9
December 24, 2016 11:14 pm

Remarkable how the most ignorant, kool-aid soaked uber-zealots who uncritically parrot out the same debunked lies over and over are the first to play the “religion” card.
Irony will be lost unfortunately.

2hotel9
Reply to  tony mcleod
December 25, 2016 5:09 am

Yes, the irony that you have fallen for a religious cult that rejects the reality that is all around you is lost on you. Wake up and smell the science.
Simon? You keep putting out links to agencies who are, and have been, falsifying data, redacting past data and outright lying in order to continue receiving government money. Its your religion and you will never forsake it. Worse than muslims, you know what you embrace is a lie.

Simon
Reply to  2hotel9
December 25, 2016 12:46 am

Tony
Couldn’t agree more which is why I have given up on him. I have no idea why he kept bringing religion up. I never did. I’d rather point him to facts, which I did and he came back with more nutty religion bollocks.

observa
December 23, 2016 2:07 am
Tony Favero
December 30, 2016 10:05 am

Snow falling in the Sahara? You bet. Even the Smithsonian… http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/snow-falls-sahara-first-time-1979-180961545/ is reporting it. CNN – our dear Global Warming guys also concede the same. Forget naysayers like Mr. Gummy Bears above. Yes Martha there is perhaps Global Cooling taking place…..a far more desperate development to mankind (oh sorry Libs, ‘personkind’ perhaps?) than warming. Far more people suffer and die from cold temps than warm—-a convenient fact ignored. Plants fail to grow well or at all in cold….duh!