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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Snow covered hilly areas across the Kingdom on Saturday with accumulations of up to 20 centimetres on the mountain peaks in the southern Tafileh and Karak regions as a snowstorm accompanying a deep depression affected the Kingdom.

Intermittent snowfall was still going on in the governorate of Tifeleh briefly blocking some roads in the Bsira, Qadisiyeh, Rashadiyeh and Eis before heavy snow-clearing machines were called in. Driving was made hazardous by gusty winds and thick fog that sharply reduced visibility on icy roads as temperature in the southern governorate plummeted to below zero.

Emergency and civil defence crews and police, backed by about 50 plows and other machinery, were reopening roads in areas where the snowfall was heavier, said Tafileh governor Mufeed Ananbeh, urging motorists to take utmost caution.

Local authorities and the civil defence in the southern region also issued precautions for citizens to stay clear of low-lying areas due to flash floods and to ensure that the drains in houses and stores remain open.

Director of the electric power distribution company in Tafileh, Abdel Hafez Khalfat, said some areas had been hit by power outages caused by the blizzard and strong winds, adding that repair crews were out to restore power.

Elsewhere, snowfall was also heavy in the Southern Mazar District in the Karak Governorate, where municipal crews and snow-sweeping machinery were reopening roads. Mutah University suspended classes on Sunday due to the prevailing weather conditions.

The civil defence directorate of Karak said it had rescued about 200 pilgrims who were stranded by the blizzard on their way back after performing omra (minor pilgrimage) in Saudi Arabia.

The main roads in the northern governorates of Ajloun and Jerash were also reopened to traffic after being cleared of snow, local officials said, adding that civil defence teams had rescued a number of stranded people.

In Amman, all roads and tunnels are accessible and had seen no closures by the heavy downpours and snowfall brought by the depression, according to Greater Amman Municipality official, Basel Tarawneh. But the Civil Defence Department in the capital said its teams had rescued 155 people whose homes had been flooded by the rising water.