Mecca in Saudi Arabia Experiences Wind and Heavy Rain

Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is home to the holiest sites in Islam, has seen tremendous storms and rain that have harmed pilgrims, closed schools, and created a chaotic situation.

On Tuesday, videos posted online showed pilgrims performing the tawaf, or circumambulating the Kaaba, getting wet and slipping as strong winds whipped up debris.

Another video captured a lightning strike on Tuesday night that illuminated the night sky as the extraordinary events took place near the enormous black cube toward which all Muslims pray.

Extreme weather brings winds and fierce rains to Saudi Arabia’s Mecca

The National Center for Meteorology's Hussain al-Qahtani wrote on X that the storm produced gale-force gusts that exceeded 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour).

Al-Qahtani claimed that within a 24-hour period, 45 millimeters (1.8 inches) of rain fell in the Mecca neighborhood of al-Kakiyyah.

Mild flooding in a few Mecca neighborhoods was also depicted on YouTube videos, forcing residents to seek refuge and halt their vehicles.

The Grand Mosque, also known as Masjid al-Haram, the mosque encompassing the area of the Kaaba, was hit by a crane that fell during a storm in 2015, killing over 100 people and wounding hundreds more.

The storms on Tuesday didn't cause any fatalities or major incidents, according to Saudi authorities.

Residents claimed that flash flooding had mostly stopped by Wednesday morning, but the situation might still be dangerous.

The Mecca region and other parts of western Saudi Arabia could experience rain, wind, and thunder on Wednesday as warned by the meteorology center.

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