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.
