Snow In Uae First Time Ever?

Merlin the Magician

Merlin the Magician

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:o UAE sees first ever snow

30dec04

SNOW has fallen over the United Arab Emirates for the first time ever, leaving a white blanket over the mountains of Ras al-Khaimah as the desert country experienced a cold spell and above-average rainfall.

The snow fell over the Al-Jees mountain range in Ras al-Khaimah, the most northerly member of the UAE federation, Dubai airport's meteorology department reported.
The English-language Gulf News reported that the mountain cluster at 1737m above sea level "had heavy night-time snowfall for the past two days as a result of temperatures dropping to as low as minus five Celsius" and stunning the emirate's residents.

On Monday, 12.6 mm of rain fell on the desert emirate of Dubai, where it hardly ever rains.

Police reported 500 accidents on its roads in 24 hours, including one fatality, as a result of a three-day downpour.
 
Only 500 accidents in 24 hours? Mideast driving standards are obviously improving!

A couple of anecdotes, entirely true, about Saudis and driving: when traffic lights were first introduced to Jeddah and Riyadh, mayhem ensued. Saudi drivers, the police found, were not stopping on red, but careering ahead. When questioned as to why they didn't stop, they to a man asserted that "the red lights are only for foreign drivers. Saudis don't have to stop!"

The introduction of cruise control to Chevy Suburbans (the vehicle of choice for weekend desert picnics) brought a wave of accidents. Investigators found that the proud new Saudi owners had set the cruise control as directed, then swivelled in their plush driving seats to join the family in the back for a cold Pepsi. One survivor explained, rather peevishly: "The salesman said all I had to do was to set the speed I wanted, and the car would control itself."

In Bahrain, the British influence ran to constructing roundabouts (unheard of in US-influenced Saudi). Young Bahrainis considered these an absurd obstacle to their Ferraris and Porsches, many meeting an untimely, if spectacular, demise by racing straight over them at 100mph+, often leaving the car's chassis on one side of the roundabout, with the rest some way distant on the other.
 
sounds like Spain, Jon.....they don't have a clue how roundabouts operate, they're a relatively new invention!!! At a lot of Spanish roundabouts, you have to give way to other cars coming onto the roundabout whilst you are on it!! It's certainly bizarre. They also love overtaking whenever & wherever, particularly if it's on a blind bend....try driving up the Sierra Nevada mountains in winter when it's icy & cars are overtaking on totally blind, very lethal bends.... :confused: :rolleyes:

Mind you, the Maltese make the Spanish look like careful drivers....the general rule of thumb out there is to give way to anything that is bigger than you, or a taxi, or a bus, regardless of whether it's your right of way or not...
 
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