Saturday, May 31, 2025

Alexandria Storm: Unusual Weather for This Time of Year "Updated"

For the record, the Egyptian Meteorological Authority did warn of rain on the Western North Coast — but it did not mention that it would be a full-blown thunderstorm capable of paralyzing a city preparing for summer.

A thunderstorm did indeed strike Alexandria and Matrouh, but its impact on Alexandria was especially severe, with the city appearing to be overflooded once again.

According to many Alexandrians commenting online, this was an unprecedented storm — unlike anything they had seen in decades, not even during the winter.

Alexandrians tend to have their own informal calendar for storms, and it seems that tonight’s event doesn’t correspond to any known seasonal patterns.

The photos and videos circulating are evidence of a serious issue.

It started in the early hours of Saturday.

The Alexandrians reported thunder, lightning, rain, hail and ice at the same time.

Ironically, it came after days of heat waves that hit the country throughout May, which is unusual too.

The strong winds were more than scary. 

The strong winds did their thing and knocked down billboards in the streets of Alexandria, especially the corniche.

The corniche itself was flooded as usual. I won't ask or wonder where the rain drainage systems.

As with every storm in Alexandria, the restaurants and cafés by the sea were mostly devastated by the thunderstorm.

I can’t help but wonder — do insurance companies offer special policies for them?

It was around 1:30 AM, and people were still out with their families in those seaside spots — on Friday night, or rather the early hours of Saturday.

This is Egypt. This is Alexandria. Like Cairo and Giza, these are cities that never sleep.

Like in every heavy rain and thunderstorm Sidi Bishr Tunnel flooded — motorists were warned to avoid crossing.

Sidi Bisher tunnel flooded as usual
"Alexandria Today FB"

I do not know why the governorate does not install rain drainage in that tunnel. 

The videos are alarming.

I hope no one was killed or injured.

Frankly, I’m deeply concerned about the storm’s impact on the many aging and crumbling buildings across the governorate.

In response, the governorate has postponed university exams — which were scheduled to begin this Saturday — until after Eid al-Adha, roughly two weeks from now. 

And as I write this in the early morning hours, reports are emerging that the desert road to Cairo has been closed due to the lack of visibility until the weather stabilizes.

There are power outages reported in parts of Alexandria, Matrouh, and several resorts along the coastline between the two governorates. There is also a temporary drop in water pressure in parts of western Alexandria and Montaza to ease the load on the networks and facilitate rainwater drainage.

Some of those resorts had just begun reopening their doors in preparation for Eid al-Adha and the start of the summer season.

Posted by at
Filed under , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank You for your comment
Please keep it civilized here, racist and hateful comments are not accepted
The Comments in this blog with exclusion of the blog's owner does not represent the views of the blog's owner.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)