The protracted violence in Syria briefly halted the other day when a storm front developed along the the nation’s Israeli border. The area had been the scene of some fighting between Israeli Defense Forces and ISIS partisans.
The video, captured by an Israeli soldier, shows the dramatic low pressure system roll in unexpectedly. You have to see the reactions by troops in the video.
Many are saying there is a simple explanation for this cloud protecting Israeli soldiers from ISIS fighters, divine intervention. One person even went onto say, “This strange storm of what appears to be dust, cloud and rain did NOT cross the border fence into Israel. It sat like a barrier between ISIS and Israel,”
Since we are talking about weather and the Middle East, we thought it would be fun to look at some of the hottest places on Earth. So, just in time for the Winter holidays, here you go:
#8 – Wadi Halfa, Sudan – 127 degrees
Wadi means valley in Arabic, and this dry valley at the top of Sudan lies on the border with Egypt. In April of 1967, the city of 15,000 clocked a temperature of 127 degrees Fahrenheit (53 degrees Celsius).
#7 – Ahwaz, Iran – 128 degrees
Ahwaz, Iran lies in a desert just above sea level and gets less than an inch of rain per year. During July, the average high will be 116 F (47 C) that’s hot enough to get most of the city’s million residents inside to turn on the fans.
#6 – Tirat Tsvi, Israel – 129 degrees
The hottest place in Asia, the small kibbutz of Tirat Tsvi (population: 642) recorded a temperature of 129 F (54 C) in June 1942. The town lies 722 feet (220 meters) below sea level. Despite its formidable climate, the town is the largest grower of dates in Israel, with 18,000 trees.
#5 – Araouane, Mali – 130 degrees
Araouane is a small Saharan village on the way to Timbuktu. It doesn’t receive enough rainfall to grow crops, and the village is dependent on the caravan trade that nowadays moves blocks of salt from mines that lie to the north. The temperature in this remote outpost hit 130 F (54.4 C) in the summer of 1945.
#4 – Timbuktu, Mali – 130.1 degrees
The city best known for being the middle of nowhere Timbuktu is also a hot-hot-hot place. Timbuktu sits on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, about 10 miles north of the Niger River. The town is surrounded by sand dunes and the streets are often covered in sand. With a recorded high of 130.1 F (54.5 C), Timbuktu is one of the hottest places in the world.
#3 – Kebili, Tunisia – 131 degrees
While it’s egg-fryingly hot, Kebili is actually a desert oasis. The 18,000 people who call this town home face heat waves with temperatures in excess of 131 F (55 C).
#2 – Ghadames, Libya – 131 degrees
Tying in temperature-record with Kebili is Ghadames, Libya, another oasis in the middle of a desert. The native Berber population of about 7,000 live in houses made with thick walls of mud, lime and tree trunks that help protect them from the blazing heat, especially in the summer.
#1 – Death Valley, United States – 134 degrees
Death Valley is the driest and lowest valley in the United States those conditions add up to some extreme temperatures. On July 10, 1913, at the Furnace Creek weather station, thermometers recorded 134 degrees, the highest temperature ever measured.
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