Polar front forecast to subside Sunday afternoon

AMMAN — Snow, hail, strong rainfall and very cold weather are forecast for Sunday, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD), which said temperatures will go below zero in several parts of the country.

Frost formation is expected in the early hours of Sunday until the afternoon, when it will become very cloudy, bringing heavy rainfall across the Kingdom, JMD Director General Mohammad Samawi told The Jordan Times Saturday.

Mercury levels in the capital will reach a high of 3°C during the day, dropping to a low of -3 to -4°C at night on Saturday and Sunday night.

Three people were killed during the storm.

The polar front, which is accompanied by a depression that started affecting the country last Tuesday, brought rain and snow across the Kingdom, according to the meteorologist.

The highest snowfall was registered in Ras Munif, with a snow accumulation of 75 centimetres, followed by Shobak and the southern areas of the country that witnessed a snow accumulation between 40-50 centimetres, he said.

On Saturday, the media office of the Public Security Department said all major roads in the capital were open as of noon and that work was under way to open back roads. 

Meanwhile, the government announced that official working hours on Sunday and Monday will start at 11am, to avoid the dangers of frost in the early morning. 

The Civil Defence Department (CDD) on Saturday said its cadres dealt with 2,680 cases since Wednesday. 

The CDD media office said that staff dealt 269 dialysis cases and 104 deliveries until Saturday. 

Also Saturday, electricity companies said they received thousands of telephone calls to report outages and power cuts across the Kingdom, noting that technical cadres fixed the vast majority of power failures. 

Meanwhile, many Amman residents complained on Saturday that they had no water because the water pipes froze due to sub-zero temperatures overnight. 

Officials described official response to the storm, dubbed Huda, as successful.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Friday commended authorities’ handling of the prevailing severe weather conditions, urging concerned agencies to continue coordination until the depression subsides.  

In statements to Jordan TV, the premier called on authorities to remain prepared for emergencies, hailing the efforts of cadres of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army for the services they have been providing to the public in the past three days, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

He also expressed appreciation for the efforts of several government agencies and the private sector.