Topic: Snow in Baghdad

[Jeff Brislane]

Most of you have probably heard of this event via the news but i'll repeat it anyway and it is also good for records sake. I find it absolutely amazing that a place like Baghdad can get snow falling considering it's latitude and altitude and I believe it's a testiment to the role that continents play in transmitting cold air versus oceans. Oceans are warmer and tend to take a lot of the sting out of low level cold air masses as seen in Australia and the USA west coast. But in Europe and Asia and the Eastern USA you see low level cold air masses travelling much further away from the pole before losing their sting. This snow even was heralded as a sign of peace and unity and one only hopes that this is true in Iraq and it is a pretty omenus event which was described as the first in living memory.

Jeff.

[Harley Pearman]

Jeff

I read about this on CNN but it appears to have been a light snowfall only. While on this subject, its not just Baghdad that has had unusual snow this year.

Amazingly snow flurries have also fallen or been reported at Orlando and some suburbs north of Miami (Florida) during a cold snap in the first week of January this year (2008). It was reported that Iguanas froze and dropped from trees during the latest Florida freeze.

Of interest, the BBC (British Broadcasting Commission) covers these unusual events quite well on their website at bbc.com and you click onto the Science section and go to "Weather news". The BBC covered this snow fall event in Baghdad and Florida quite well. Generally, when you analyse world weather, it is amazing at the number of extreme and unusual events that occur.


Harley Pearman

[James]

I was amazed that Iran/Iraq actually received snow let alone widespread falls even away from the mountains.

Early February last year my wife and I were on a flight from Vienna to Kuala Lumpur that flew over Tehran. We were both amazed to see the vast amount of snow cover all over Turkey, Iran and far northern Iraq, it looked almost artic like. I guess when I think of the Middle East I think of hot desert like conditions. Certainly learnt a thing or two that day. (I have pasted two photos from that day below - first is a close up of the snow lying over the top of the lava flow of Tendurek Dagi Volcano in Turkey right near the Iranian border. Second shot is a view to the S and SW towards the Iraq/Syria/Turkey border region as we fly over the border into Iran - Lake Van is on the right).

Here in Australia we are so different. Imagine if the Southern Coast line extended down towards Antartica. I would imagine Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart would regularly see snow. Sydney I'm not sure about, but it would be a hell of a lot colder.