Snow In Desert? Yes! Beautiful Images Was Captured During The Snowfall In Sahara Desert; First To Happen In 37 Years

First Posted: Dec 22, 2016 04:20 AM EST

It is not known for a hot desert to encounter snow. However, reports came out that the Sahara desert again experienced snowfall, after 37 years.

The Sahara is known to be the largest hot desert in the world. Also, It is the third largest desert in the world after the Arctic and the Antarctica. The area of Sahara covers up to 9,200,000 square kilometers. The size is comparable to the whole United States.

CNN reported that an amateur photographer captured an amazing event in Shara. It is rare and beautiful to capture images of the snow that landed in the Shara desert after almost 40 years.

Dry, hot #Sahara desert hit by freak snowfall for the first time in 37 years. #SaharaSnow @CNNTravel @mofromcnn https://t.co/KA1znjfTyA pic.twitter.com/r8UQkyNQ6H

— Natural Habitat (@NatHab) December 22, 2016

The photographer, Karim Bouchetata, captured the rare occurrence on Monday. It is located in the small Algerian town of Ain Sefra that lies in the Atlas Mountains at the desert's edge in the northern part. In the captured images by Mr. Bouchetata, it appears that the layer of snow rests on deep orange dunes, where he said that it only stayed for about a day. It then forms into a whirling pattern, wherein the slopes are too steep for the snow to settle.

Mr. Bouchetata told Independent that "Everyone was stunned to see snow falling in the desert, it is such a rare occurrence. It looked amazing as the snow settled on the sand and made a great set of photos. The snow stayed for about a day and has now melted away."

In 1979, the snow was reportedly seen in Ain Sefra. A snowstorm occurred that caused the traffic to stop.

You know it's winter when there is snow in #saharadesert (PHOTOS) https://t.co/c0MAKisvXi #SaharaSnow pic.twitter.com/3tHbJmYw0j — RT (@RT_com) December 22, 2016

Ain Serra is founded in 1881 as a French garrison town and was called "The Gateway to the Desert." It has the average high temperature of more than 37 degrees Celsius during summer and has a record of -10.2 degree Celsius in winter.