Kingdom, region bracing for ‘very cold air mass’

AMMAN — The Kingdom is forecast to be affected by a very cold air mass as of Tuesday, coming from north of Europe and heading towards the south, to Turkey, Cyprus and the Middle East, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said Saturday.

The cold air mass, expected to last for two weeks, is going to cause a significant drop in temperatures, JMD Director Mohammad Samawi told the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The air mass will cause temperatures to drop in south Europe, Russia and the Caucasus, expected at -6^oC, affecting also Turkey, Cyprus and the Middle East, including Jordan, Samawi said, noting that more details will be revealed later to ensure higher credibility of information.

Samawi did not rule out the possibility of snowfall in the affected countries, but said it could be intermittent. 

The JMD follows up round-the-clock on the developments in weather conditions and will produce, as always, a four-day detailed forecast to enable people to take any necessary measures, Samawi said, urging the public to ignore rumours and take information only from official sources or through accessing www.jmd.gov.jo. 

Samawi said that the weather today is forecast to be relatively cold all over the Kingdom with possible light showers in northern areas in the early morning, while the winds are expected to be northwesterly mild to moderate. 

On Monday, the weather is also forecast to be relatively cold with southeasterly moderate to brisk winds, while on Tuesday, the air mass is expected to bring heavy showers and winds with a flow velocity of 50-60km per hour.