Winter expected to make a comeback this week

AMMAN — The Kingdom will be affected by a depression on Tuesday night that is forecast to bring heavy rain and thunderstorms as well as snow to mountainous areas, the Jordan Meteorologist Department (JMD) said on Monday.

The depression, centred over north of Cyprus, is also expected to bring down temperatures by seven to nine degrees below their annual average of 17°C during this time of the year.

“The depression is expected to bring heavy rain to all parts of the Kingdom, as well as thunder, hail and strong winds. In addition, snowfall is forecast on Wednesday and Thursday in the Sharah mountains,” JMD meteorologist, Saed Taha, told The Jordan Times.

Weather charts indicate that it is “unlikely” that the capital will receive any snow, Taha said.

“The impact of the depression is expected to start Tuesday night and prevail until the end of this week, as temperatures continue to drop,” he added.

The weather will be relatively cold on Tuesday, with clouds forming in the afternoon, according to Taha, who noted that rain will start falling in the north, expanding gradually to the central region.

Temperatures in Amman will range between a high of 16°C during the day and a low of 7°C at night, while winds will be southwesterly moderate, turning to northwesterly moderate to brisk at night, according to the JMD.

Another drop in temperatures is forecast on Wednesday, when the weather will be cold and rainy with thunder and hail expected, Taha said.

Temperatures will reach a maximum of 12°C and drop to a minimum of 4°C, while winds will be westerly to northwesterly brisk with gusts.

“Snow is expected to start falling over the Sharah mountains after midnight,” the meteorologist added.

A further drop in temperatures is forecast on Thursday, when the weather will continue to be cold and wet with thunderstorms. Snow is also expected over mountainous areas. Winds will be westerly brisk with strong gusts at times.

Daytime temperatures on Thursday will reach 10°C in the capital, dropping to 2°C at night, according to the JMD.

The impact of the depression is expected to deepen on Friday, when the weather will be very cold, cloudy and rainy, according to Taha. 

Temperatures in Amman will dip nine degrees below their annual average, ranging between a high of 9°C and a low of zero, the weather forecaster said.

Meanwhile, rainfall over the past two days had not changed storage levels at the country’s 10 major dams by Monday morning, according to Ministry of Water and Irrigation figures. 

“The dams currently hold 142 million cubic metres (mcm), which constitutes 43.5 per cent of their total capacity of 325mcm. Rainwater needs 24-48 hours to reach the dams and sometimes longer if the soil is dry,” a source at the ministry told The Jordan Times.

“The country’s 10 major dams held 181mcm or 55.6 per cent of their total capacity of 325mcm during this time last year, whereas they stored around 34.5 per cent in 2012.”