Jordanian authorities urged people on Thursday to stay home after overnight snowfall blocked roads in many parts of the country and shut down the capital Amman.
Although much of Jordan is desert, the country of 10 million people used to see snow several times a year before it became less common in the past decade.
Several centimetres of snow fell overnight in Amman, which is 700 metres above sea level, with some parts of the city at an altitude of 1,000 metres.
There was more snow in higher areas, including Al Salt and Ajloun in the north, and some parts of the south.
Officials said people going out in cars to see the snow were blocking work by municipal crews to clear it from the roads.
They said some motorways, such as the main road leading north from Amman to the Syrian border, were blocked.
“People should stay home,” Civil Defence official Amman Al Ananzeh told state TV.
He said the department did not record any serious incidents but that it was responding to more cases of coronavirus and other illnesses because people could not get to hospital on their own.
The rainy and snowy weather conditions are expected to subside tonight.
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A young Syrian girl runs on a snow-covered street in the Jabal Al Zawiya region in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on February 17, 2021. AFP -
A man pushes a large snowball in front of the Blue Mosque on February 17, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. An overnight cold snap brought heavy snowfall to Istanbul in the early morning, causing traffic disruptions. Getty Images -
A woman takes a photo in the snow at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's old city on February 17, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel, as wintery weather hits the country. Getty Images -
A Syrian man rides a motorcycle among groves covered with snow in the Jabal al-Zawiya region in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on February 17, 2021. AFP -
People play by the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary during a snowy morning in Jerusalem's Old City, on February 18, 2021. Reuters -
An ultra-orthodox man and his sons build a snowman in Sacher Park in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 February 2021. EPA -
Israeli youths throw snowballs on cars in a main street in north Jerusalem neighbourhood, on February 17, 2021. EPA -
A man looks on as snows falls in an alley of Jerusalem's Old City, February 17, 2021. Reuters -
Aysegul Cepoglu, rear, and Ahmet Efe Isik slide down the hill at snow-blanketed Seymenler Park, in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. AP Photo -
Children play in the snow in front of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque on February 17, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. Getty Images
