An Iraqi man and his child enjoy light snow fall in eastern Baghdad, Iraq on Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. After weathering nearly five years of war, Baghdad residents thought they'd pretty much seen it all. But Friday morning, as muezzins were calling the faithful to prayer, the people here awoke to something certifiably new. For the first time in memory, snow fell across Baghdad.(AP Photo/ Adil al-Khazali)
Snow Day in the Sands of Baghdad
BAGHDAD (AP) — The flakes melted quickly. But the smiles, wonder and excited story-swapping went on throughout the day: It snowed in Baghdad.
The morning flurry Friday was the first in memory in the heart of the Iraqi capital. Perhaps more significant, however, was the rare ripple of delight through a city snarled by army checkpoints, divided by concrete walls and ravaged by sectarian killings.
"For the first time in my life I saw a snow-rain like this falling in Baghdad," said Mohammed Abdul-Hussein, a 63-year-old retiree from the New Baghdad area.
"When I was young, I heard from my father that such rain had fallen in the early '40s on the outskirts of northern Baghdad," Abdul-Hussein said, referring to snow as a type of rain. "But snow falling in Baghdad in such a magnificent scene was beyond my imagination."
After weathering nearly five years of war, Baghdad residents thought they'd pretty much seen it all. But as muezzins were calling the faithful to prayer, the people here awoke to something certifiably new.
Snow is common in the mountainous Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, but residents of the capital and surrounding areas could remember just hail. And that, only very occasionally.
Summer temperatures in Baghdad are routinely a sweltering 120 degrees and winters generally mild.
But this week has been unusually cold and blustery, with overnight temperatures more than 10 degrees below normal. On Thursday morning, the thermometer hovered around freezing after a low of 27, and the Baghdad airport closed because of low visibility.
"I asked my mother, who is 80, whether she'd ever seen snow in Iraq before, and her answer was no," said Fawzi Karim, a 40-year-old father of five who runs a small restaurant in Hawr Rajab, a village six miles southeast of Baghdad.
"This is so unusual, and I don't know whether or not it's a lesson from God," Karim said.
Some said they'd seen snow only in movies.
Talib Haider, a 19-year-old college student, said "a friend of mine called me at 8 a.m. to wake me up and tell me that the sky is raining snow."
"I rushed quickly to the balcony to see a very beautiful scene," he said. "I tried to film it with my cell phone camera. This scene has really brought me joy. I called my other friends and the morning turned out to be a very happy one in my life."
An Iraqi who works for The Associated Press said he woke his wife and children shortly after 7 a.m. to "have a look at this strange thing." He then called his brother and sister and found them awake, also watching the "cotton-like snow drops covering the trees."
For a couple of hours anyway, a city where mortar shells routinely zoom across the Tigris River to the Green Zone became united as one big White Zone. There were no reports of bloodshed during the snowstorm. The snow showed no favoritism as it dusted neighborhoods Shiite and Sunni alike, faintly falling (with apologies to James Joyce) upon all the living and the dead.
Snow has fallen in Baghdad, Iraq for the first time in approximately 100 years. Although Baghdad sometimes sees hail and sleet, snow has never been seen in living memory.

Snow was also recorded in the western and central parts of the country, where it is also very unusual, and in the Kurdish north, which is mountainous and commonly sees snowfall.

A statement by the meteorology department read "Snow has fallen in Baghdad for the first time in about a century as a result of two air flows meeting. The first one was cold and dry and the second one was warm and humid. They met above Iraq."

Dawood Shakir, director of the meteorology department, told ''AFP'' his take on the causation of the snow: "It's very rare. Baghdad has never seen snow falling in living memory. These snowfalls are linked to the climate change that is happening everywhere. We are finding some places in the world which are warm and are supposed to be cold."

Temperatures in some parts of the country fell below freezing, compared to winters that are normally mild in a climate that sees summer temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Snow fell in the capital city from prior to dawn until just after 9 a.m. local time. The flakes failed to provide a covering of snow, instead melting quickly. However, many local people still had positive things to say about the once in a lifetime event.

Mohammed Abdul-Hussein, a 63-year-old in retirement, commented "For the first time in my life I saw a snow-rain like this falling in Baghdad. When I was young, I heard from my father that such rain had fallen in the early '40s on the outskirts of northern Baghdad but snow falling in Baghdad in such a magnificent scene was beyond my imagination."

Fawzi Karim, who runs a small restaurant in Hawr Rajab, six miles from Baghdad said "I asked my mother, who is 80, whether she'd ever seen snow in Iraq before, and her answer was no... This is so unusual, and I don't know whether or not it's a lesson from God," while college student Talib Haider said "a friend of mine called me at 8 a.m. to wake me up and tell me that the sky is raining snow. I rushed quickly to the balcony to see a very beautiful scene. I tried to film it with my cell phone camera. This scene has really brought me joy. I called my other friends and the morning turned out to be a very happy one in my life."

Resident Aysar Khaled told ''Reuters'' "I woke up and I saw snow falling, so I woke up all the family and told them to come and see the snowfall. Everyone in Baghdad is delighted because this is a new thing, this is the first time that it snows in Baghdad... The view is very beautiful."

Some viewed it as a sign of impending peace, or at least of an improving situation in the war-torn country. Hassan Zahar, a 60-year-old resident, said "It is the first time we've seen snow in Baghdad. We've seen sleet before, but never snow. I looked at the faces of all the people, they were astonished... A few minutes ago, I was covered with snowflakes. In my hair, on my shoulders. I invite all the people to enjoy peace, because the snow means peace."

The snow was "a new sign of the new Iraq," according to traffic policeman Murtadha Fadhil, who spoke to ''Reuters'' whilst sheltering under a balcony. "It's a sign of hope. We hope Iraqis will purify their hearts and politicians will work for the prosperity of all Iraqis."

There are no reports of any bloodshed during the time the snow was falling.