Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology (NCM) said the lowest temperature ever recorded in the Kingdom during the winter season reached minus 10 degrees Celsius in Hail on January 16, 2008.

In a statistical report released Thursday, the NCM reviewed minimum temperatures and frost conditions recorded across the Kingdom during winter months — December, January and February — from 1985 to 2025.

According to the report, Qurayyat in Al-Jouf region recorded the second-lowest temperature at minus 9 degrees Celsius in January 2008.

Turaif in the Northern Borders region recorded temperatures as low as minus 8 degrees Celsius on several occasions during the same period, while Al-Jouf city registered minus 7 degrees Celsius in February 1989.

Other cities also experienced sub-zero temperatures, including Arar at minus 6.3°C, Rafha at minus 5.8°C, Riyadh at minus 5.4°C, Buraidah at minus 5°C, Qassim at minus 4.2°C, Tabuk at minus 4°C, Al-Ahsa at minus 2.3°C, Wadi Al-Dawasir at minus 2°C, Taif at minus 1.5°C and Bisha at minus 1°C, recorded during different years within the study period.

The NCM noted that 2008 was among the coldest years on record, with several cities including Hail, Riyadh, Buraidah, Qassim and Tabuk experiencing their lowest temperatures during that year.

The report also ranked the top 10 cities by number of frost days recorded between 1985 and 2025.

Turaif topped the list with 720 frost days, followed by Qurayyat with 588 days, Hail with 339 days, Arar with 277 days, Rafha with 197 days, Sakaka with 185 days, Tabuk with 139 days, Buraidah with 83 days, Al-Qaisumah with 71 days and Riyadh with 46 frost days.

The NCM said the report forms part of its efforts to analyze and document long-term climate records, support scientific research and raise public awareness about the Kingdom’s diverse climatic characteristics.