VIDEO: Tornado spotted in Saudi Arabia’s Sakaka city

Gulf Today Report

A massive tornado has been spotted in Sakaka in the northwestern region of Saudi Arabia.
Sakaka is the capital of Al Jawf Province.

Experts said it was one of the largest tornadoes ever documented in the region.

A video circulating on social media showed a tornado violently moving through the desert.  

Authorities have urged citizens to stay away from the valleys and open areas due to unstable weather.  

According to Professor of Climate Change and Department of Geography at Qassim University, Dr Abdullah Al-Misnad, “The tornado, which formed southeast of Al-Jawf is one of the largest hurricanes that has been documented with pictures in Saudi Arabia.”

In a series of tweets he explained the weather phenomenon.

The tornado occupies a small area, as it is not more than 1.5 km in diameter, and may reach less than 100 metres only.

The speed of a moving tornado usually lies between 37 — 75 km / h, and its rotation speed exceeds that of tropical cyclones, that is more than 200 km per hour, and sometimes it reaches about 500 km per hour.

The tornado can sweep away camels and cars.

Such things don’t happen unless there is a full-fledged storm or turbulent weather conditions.

Experts said that the air pressure in the eye of the tornado is usually very low.

On the other hand, the Saudi weather body said a cold wave would hit the region with strong winds.  The unstable weather would be witnessed in Tabuk, Al-Jawf, Hail, Al-Qassim, and parts of Madinah, Riyadh.

The authorities said there are chances of scattered rain in parts of the central, eastern and southwestern region of the Kingdom.

The report indicated that the surface wind movement on the Red Sea is northwest to westerly at a speed of 16-40 km / hour, and the wave height would be around one to two metres.