From the desert city of Las Vegas and the iconic landmarks of Los Angeles to typically sun-blessed islands in the Mediterranean, snow sometimes falls in the most unexpected places around the globe. We've selected some stunning images where the unlikely weather lends a magical edge to the landscape.
Click or scroll through the gallery for snowy scenes you won't believe you're seeing...
Imagine the Sahara Desert and you'll probably picture fiery orange and gold dunes rippling as far as the eye can see. But, in 2018, the famous desert looked rather different, as the Sahara town of Aïn Séfra, Algeria and its surroundings experienced rare snowfall. Unusual moisture levels in the air and plummeting nighttime temperatures were the perfect recipe for this extraordinary weather event. Amazingly, it's not the only time it's happened in recent years either. Snow and frost again appeared here in 2021 and 2022.
Swaying palms and big waves are what most people associate a holiday on Hawaii with, but serious snow bunnies know the state has powder too. The summits of its three tallest volcanoes (Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and Haleakalā) are dusted in snow each year. Mauna Kea (Hawaiian for 'white mountain') on Big Island is a covetable location for wilderness skiing with no lifts or marked trails. At 13,800 feet (4,200m) high, temperatures can get as low as -4ºC (24.8ºF). Unusually, snow swept into Maui island in February 2019 covering Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area, one of the lowest elevation snowfalls ever recorded in the Aloha State.
Wintry weather brings a little extra magic to the spectacle of the Grand Canyon. It’s not uncommon for snow and ice to cloak the colourful geological wonder during the winter months. Snow is most likely to fall in the South Rim, which is 7,000 feet (2,135m) above sea level and where temperatures can fall to as low as -7ºC (19.4ºF). It can cause treacherous trekking conditions and roads to be cut off.
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When you think of Africa you probably envisage deserts or tropical beaches, but the continent's climate is much more diverse than most holiday snaps would suggest. Morocco is Africa’s premier ski destination with the virgin powder and remote peaks of its High Atlas Mountains luring snow bunnies for decades. Its two ski resorts are Oukaimeden and Mischliffe. The former sits at 8,530 feet (2,600m) and is the highest in the continent. It’s unusual but not altogether unknown for blizzards to blanket low-lying parts of the country too as cold waves come in from the east during December to March.
The little landlocked nation of Lesotho is the coldest and snowiest country in Africa. June can see temperatures plummet below 0°C (32°F) and heavy snowfall is common. Lesotho is a mountainous country with over 80% of it sitting at above 5,906 feet (1,800m). It’s possible to ski here too – head to the European-style Afriski Mountain Resort in the north's Maloti Mountains from June to late-August to take to the slopes.
It’s a little-known fact that you can also ski in South Africa during winter (June to August). One of its snowiest spots is the Eastern Cape highlands, which is where you’ll find the Tiffindell Ski Resort, close to the Lesotho border. It also snows in the Northern and Western Capes: Sutherland in the Northern Cape often gets the earliest snow while Matroosberg is the most likely place for snow in the Western Cape. In 2018 late-season snowfall was recorded across all three capes, as well as in the state of Kwazulu-Natal, with some areas receiving more than 10 inches (25cm) of snow in just three days. In July 2023, residents of South Africa's biggest city, Johannesburg, were stunned by the first snowfall there in over a decade.
A vicious snowstorm in the early months of 2018 – nicknamed the Beast from the East – sent temperatures plunging and brought snow and icy conditions across Europe. Locals in the southern Italian city of Naples, who are used to mild wet winters and scorching summers, shivered along with the rest of the continent, as the blast of Siberian weather brought the biggest snowfall in half a century. The unusually heavy snow covered the city's streets and beaches and also cloaked nearby Mount Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompeii.
The 2018 snow also disrupted transport, shut down schools and saw the army called in to help clear the streets of Rome. Rather than the usual scenes of tourists sweltering in queues to enter the city's historic sites, the crowds of sightseers shivered by the snow-dusted Colosseum and Roman Forum as Italy's capital city experienced its first snowfall in six years. Up to 1.5 inches (4cm) carpeted the ground.
It snows every year in the beautiful Balearic isle, but usually only in its mountainous areas. The peaks of the Sierra de Tramuntana mountain range are snow-capped through most of the winter, along with some mountain villages such as Valldemossa. But you’re less likely to see snowfall across its usually sun-scorched plains and along its coastline. However, winter storms can blow into more temperate parts of the island including the capital Palma (pictured), which has been known to have icy streets and a good dousing of snow on its palm trees, superyachts, cathedral and beaches.
Heavy snow can often carpet parts of Catalonia in northern Spain but it’s rarer for Barcelona, the region's coastal capital, to see any of the white stuff settle. However, in early 2020, Storm Gloria brought the city to a shiver with freezing temperatures, strong winds and snow. Beachy Barcelona was also affected by the Siberian cold front that swept across much of southern Europe in January 2018 while 2010 saw Barcelona's heaviest snowfall since 1962, pictured here. In late February 2023, Storm Juliette left Spain's second-largest city covered in snow.
While Athens regularly tops European temperature charts in the summer, it hit the record-breaking lows in January 2019. Temperatures dropped below zero and rare snow blanketed the ancient capital, along with parts of southwestern Greece, as a cold snap reached the Mediterranean from Siberia. The sight of snow lightly dusting the ruins of the Acropolis and other ancient monuments was a spectacular one, but the extreme weather brought chaos to the capital’s roads. In recent years, the Greek capital has made such weather something of a habit with snow also falling here in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Heavy snowfall transformed the pretty villages and bushland of New South Wales’ Blue Mountains region into a winter wonderland in June 2019. The Upper Mountains generally have five days of snow each year, while the lower part, where the settlements are, can often be icy and dusted in frost during the southern hemisphere's winter. Unusually, the cold weather of June 2019 also saw snow flurries in Queensland as well as low-lying parts of Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales. Snow here used to be more common and much heavier, but climate change has had a negative impact on both.
A snowshoeing expedition on Tasmania’s dramatic Overland Track is just one of many ways in which you can explore the island's stunning snowy landscapes. The state's mountains are often cloaked in the white stuff during the winter months, including Cradle Mountain (pictured), which along with the wider Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park transforms into an icy wonderland. The coldest month of the year is July, although it has been known for it to snow here in Australia's summer (December, January and February).
This idyllic alpine scene could easily be in the thickly forested Bavarian Alps or in the far northern peaks of snowy Sweden. But it is, in fact, the Troodos Mountains in the sun-kissed Eastern Mediterranean island-country of Cyprus. The forest-clad mountain range becomes a picturesque frozen wilderness from mid-December until the end of March and draws skiers to play on its slopes.
Another unlikely ski destination is Iran. Four of the country's main ski resorts, Dizin, Shemshak, Darbandsar and Tochal, are nestled in the Alborz mountains in the north. With plenty of powder, pristine off-piste runs and altitudes of up to 11,800 feet (3,600m) these destinations are usually popular with backcountry skiers. Situated just 47 miles (75km) east of Tehran, Abali Ski Resort is the Iranian capital's oldest and most accessible winter getaway.
With its steep forested hillsides and lush green valleys, the Himachal Pradesh capital was the summer capital for the British during colonial times as they sought to escape the intense heat elsewhere. However, Shimla arguably becomes even more stunning from December to January when its peaks and forests are dusted in snow. Kufri, a small hill station in the Shimla district, is one of the best places to experience the wintry weather and take part in a variety of snow-based activities.
You know about cherry blossom and hot springs, but did you know Japan gets some of the most (and best) snow on earth? The Hakuba Valley, at the northern end of the spectacular Japan Alps, is one of the country’s snowiest spots. With 10 ski resorts, which are located at the base of the Ushiro-Tateyama Mountain Range in northern Nagano Prefecture, it is also one of the country’s largest and most renowned alpine resorts. It enjoys an average snowfall of 33-43 feet (10-13m) between December and March. Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, is home to over 100 ski resorts including legendary Niseko and Rusutsu.
Winter is a harsh but beautiful season in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture too with Mount Hakkoda, pictured, also famed for its deep and pristine powder. Along with the Zao ski resort in Yamagata Prefecture, it is one of the only places in Japan that has the right conditions to form snow monsters. These surreal shapes, also known as ghost or ice trees, are produced when water droplets carried by strong seasonal winds clash with the evergreens and freeze them in place. No wonder Aomori City itself is the snowiest city in the world.
Though snow is rare in the southern states of the USA, it’s not unheard of. Pictured here is the Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas after a snowstorm – snowfalls occur once or twice during an average winter in the park, usually at elevations of 3,500 feet (1,066m) and upwards. Amarillo, located in the Texas Panhandle, receives an average of just under 1.5 feet (0.45m) of snow during the course of the year.
A cold front blanketed the streets and high-rises of Las Vegas, along with surrounding mountains and desert in Nevada in February 2019. The winter snowstorm covered the runways of Las Vegas’ airport with a rare 0.8 inches (2cm) of snow, causing cancellations and delays. Nearby Lee Canyon (or Mount Charleston), a small resort popular for skiing, snowshoeing and tubing around 45 minutes from Sin City, recorded more than a foot (0.3m) of the white stuff.
Usually seen soaked in sun, Turkey's largest city was engulfed in a rare snowstorm in January 2022. It is the coldest month in Istanbul but rarely do temperatures dip quite this low. Istanbul Airport – Europe's busiest – was forced to close for several days and flights were grounded as up to 2ft.6in (0.8m) of the white stuff fell. Schools, vaccination centres and major roads had to close as people stayed indoors to take refuge from this unusual weather. Athens in Greece was also hit by the snowstorm.
When you think of Saudi Arabia, 'winter wonderland' probably isn't the first thing that springs to mind. In November 2024 though, the country's Al-Jawf region turned expectations on their head when it experienced snowfall for the first time in recorded history. Needless to say, the images and videos of the desert being blanketed white went viral on social media. The historic snowstorm came after a run of relentless rain and hailstorms. According to the UAE's National Centre of Meteorology, the truly bizarre weather events in the area were the result of a low-pressure system in the Arabian Sea.
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That really is a snowboarder wandering the streets of Madrid. In January 2021, Storm Filomena brought heavy snowfall to parts of Spain. It wreaked havoc and widespread chaos as it went, closing roads, airports and – perhaps most notably in a country where the sport is essentially a religion – postponing football matches. Between eight and 12 inches (20 to 30cm) of snow fell on the Spanish capital, its heaviest carpeting of the cold white stuff in over a century.
Snow at the Hollywood sign? It sounds like the kind of fictional event that Tinseltown's directors might reserve for the big screen. In early 2023 though, Southern California was hit by a series of winter storms that brought snowfall to lower elevations than the area had known in decades. So heavy and widespread did the snowfall get across the state, in fact, Governor Gavin Newsom had to declare a state of emergency for 13 counties.
Now discover the most shocking weather event in every US state and DC