what the!!

[wxcrazytwo]

Snowfall in Somalia reported

Wed. June 01, 2005 10:36 am.

The first snowfall on this part of the world has claimed one life and caused extensive damage to properties. Puntland, northeastern part of Somalia has never recorded snowfall before last night when snow storms with high winds destroyed homes in Rako town.

The storm left a blanket of snow on the ground, something residents had never seen in their lives before. Aside from this unexplained snowfall on this tropical land, Somalia has experienced very strange weather in the past few months.

Floods killed people and forced rivers to overflow banks in almost all parts of the country. Many cities from Hargeisa in the north to Baladweyn in central were affected badly by heavy rains and floods. Many people were killed and thousands of livestock washed away by this strange weather. The country is still struggling to recover from last month’s killer weather.

With no effective central government, Somalia doesn’t have weather prediction or climate monitoring systems in place. Somalis think this unusual weather and last night’s previously unheard of snowfall are part of the global warming phenomena.

http://somalinet.com/news/world/Somalia/506

[LaBreeze]

Strange indeed!

[Trader Ron]

Gee, I thought there is Global Warming.

[tallywx]

I bet it was hail. The lowest nighttime temp. I could find in Somalia over the past day (in puntland) was 57 degrees. I bet they had a severe thunderstorm that produced enough hail to cover the ground, like what you sometimes see in the Midwest.

[tallywx]

I found a weather forecast for the town of Qardho, Somalia, which is about 75 miles from Rako town (where the snow was reported to occur) and at the same elevation. Their current temperature is 90 degrees, and their low last night is 76.

Being from Florida, I know that it's just a bit difficult to get snow at those temps.

[KatDaddy]

I think you are right on target tallywx.........hail not snow.

[Cookiely]

If you've never seen snow then how did they know it was snow??? I agree it was probably hail.

[Hyperstorm]

It's definitely hail. Notice how they say that there was damage to properties relating to the "snow". A coating of hail, however, is quite an unusual phenomenon, especially in tropical regions where UL temperatures are NOT as cold as in the sub-tropics...

[cyclonaut]

Its not snow but it is bad reporting.

[Agua]

I found a weather forecast for the town of Qardho, Somalia, which is about 75 miles from Rako town (where the snow was reported to occur) and at the same elevation. Their current temperature is 90 degrees, and their low last night is 76.

Being from Florida, I know that it's just a bit difficult to get snow at those temps.

I have seen snow in the low 70s in March, in central Mississippi. It snowed so hard that despite the temperature, the ground had a coating. Of course, as soon as it stopped all of it melted within 5 minutes.

[cyclonaut]

Snow in a equatorial region on June 1st.

I found that as close to an impossibility as there is on Earth.

[abajan]

Look, it may well have been snow and not hail. Strange and inexplicable things happen from time to time.

I'm sure most of you have heard of frogs falling from the sky. Why frogs? And if they were caught in some kind of strong updraft, why weren't other small creatures falling too?

Strange things just happen.

[canegrl04]

I've never been pelted by snow,but I have by hail

[Valkhorn]

I have seen snow in the low 70s in March, in central Mississippi. It snowed so hard that despite the temperature, the ground had a coating. Of course, as soon as it stopped all of it melted within 5 minutes.

When? I lived in Central MS for a long time and the only March snow I remember was in March 1993.

It certainly wasn't 70 degrees when it started snowing then...

The warmest I remember seeing snow was 41 degrees in Meridian back in December one year.

[Agua]

Around 1986 maybe? This was southwest of Mendenhall. It might have actually been in April.

[tallywx]

Look, it may well have been snow and not hail. Strange and inexplicable things happen from time to time.

I'm sure most of you have heard of frogs falling from the sky. Why frogs? And if they were caught in some kind of strong updraft, why weren't other small creatures falling too?

Strange things just happen.

Strange things, yes. Inexplicable things when it comes to snow? No. Not with an atmospheric profile as they had. 1000-500 mb thickness values for when the "snow" occurred were 5760 meters. One needs 5400 meters to begin thinking about snow. 5760 isn't even close! One also needs 850 mb temps. of around 0 celsius. Why? If the temperature is above 0 from that height down to the surface, snow will melt into rain before reaching the ground, NO MATTER HOW COLD IT IS ABOVE THAT. 850 mb temps. from that day were 18 celsius. 64 degrees!!!!!

Strange things can happen, but within reason. Your call that this was snow is beyond reason, as proven by the atmospheric profile. Snow under these conditions would defy existing laws of physics and natural law.

Frogs, on the other hand, don't.

[bevgo]

I too remember a spring snowfall in central Ms but I remember it being really cold. Don't remember what year. Never been to Mendenhall though so I certainly will not say you are wrong. Stranger things have happened. Of course with temps in the 70s I would think the snow in Somalia was very small hail in copious amounts. Again--stranger things---------

[abajan]

...Strange things can happen, but within reason. Your call that this was snow is beyond reason, as proven by the atmospheric profile. Snow under these conditions would defy existing laws of physics and natural law.

Frogs, on the other hand, don't.

Haven't you ever watched Unsolved Mysteries? Btw, I didn't say that it was snow that fell. I said it may well have been.

[Agua]

I too remember a spring snowfall in central Ms but I remember it being really cold. Don't remember what year. Never been to Mendenhall though so I certainly will not say you are wrong. Stranger things have happened. Of course with temps in the 70s I would think the snow in Somalia was very small hail in copious amounts. Again--stranger things---------

Oh, I know what it was. Seen snow many, many times. Obviously, the temperature and time of year is what made it so striking. Well, that along with the size of the, no other way to put this, but "gobs" of snowflakes. The accumulated mass of snowflakes was falling in gobs about 2" across.

[edited to include the following:] As far as anyone else being aware of it, I really doubt there was any report of it at all. As far as I know, it was very localized.

[Steve]

OOLAH BOOLAH

TPS