Does it Snow in Africa?

Posted by Sara on December 16, 2019
Last updated on October 11, 2020

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Table of Contents

Overview:

While Band Aid’s infamous song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” stirred up conversation about the famine in Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985, it also raised the question to one of its lyrics.

“...there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time.”

Many hear this song and pause to think, "well, does it snow in Africa?"

Indeed, it does snow in Africa, but rarely. Africa is a massive continent, hosting a wide range of climate zones and snow can be found all in different regions of the continent. There are certain countries in Africa that are more prone to some amount of snowfall than others. Further, there have been records broken for snow fall in obscure places like the Sahara Desert. Across the African continent, there are ski resorts. Some have just enough snowfall to hit the slopes, and others produce artificial snow to enjoy the winter sport of skiing.

Truth be told, large amounts of snow will only be found on the peaks of Africa’s Mountains.

A couple of Africa's regions have more reliable snow cover than others - most often associated with high altitude.

African Countries Prone to Snowfall:

There are really only two main regions in Africa that produce snowfall on a somewhat regular basis. South Africa and Lesotho. South Africa is the southernmost country in the continent of Africa and it is home to many ecosystems. From highlands, to savannah, grasslands, forests, and yes, even to tundra. Lesotho, or the Kingdom of Lesotho is a country that is landlocked by South Africa. Lesotho has an area of 11,720 sq mi and is situated at a high altitude of 3,281 feet across the entire country.

While snow in South Africa and Lesotho is somewhat common, the amount of snow is not an alarming amount. It is commonly reported that the amount of snowfall in certain regions of South Africa, is just enough for the residents to “build a snowman”. While these snowmen are most likely melted away within a day or so, the act of building snowmen is certainly an excellent snowy source of entertainment for South Africans. The cities listed below have a little bit more snowfall than just a brief coating.

• Cederberg, South Africa
  
  
• Sutherland, South Africa
  
  
• Rhodes, South Africa
  
  
• Hogsback, South Africa
  
  
• Prince Edward Islands, South Africa

Cederberg:

Located in the Western Cape of South Africa that runs by the Cederberg mountains and continues to Doring river, Cederberg has a population of roughly 50,000 people. Here you can visit the Cederberg Wilderness center to camp, or stay in a cottage while enjoying building snowmen, igloos, and running in the snow.

Sutherland:

Located in the Northern Cape of South Africa, Sutherland is home to approximately 3,000 people. This small town is known for sheep farming and being a great stop for tourism. Sutherland regularly receives tourists to view its snowy town along with some of the best skies in the world for clear, nighttime stargazing.

Rhodes:

Located in the Drakensberg Mountains in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, Rhodes is a small village with a big personality. This small village is famous for the annual winter event, the Rhodes Trail Run. Each year, runners will compete in a 31 mile long run. You must be invited in order to compete in the race. For this event, the contestants have 9 hours to run 31 miles up steep, snowy terrain. It is recorded that one year the temperatures reached as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit during the frigid, cold race. Better have your long johns on!

Hogsback:

Hogsback is a small village with only about 1,000 residents located in the Amathole Mountains in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Due to Hogsback altitude of 3638 feet, it does receive snowfall a couple of times a year. Hogsback is a quaint town for winter time, offering hikes in the mountains as well as forests. The Amatola Forest in Hogsback is claimed to be a source of inspiration for the Mirkwood forest in “The Lord of the Rings”.

Prince Edward Islands:

Resting in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean, Prince Edward Islands are two small islands belonging to South Africa. Not to be confused with the Canadian Province with the same name, Prince Edward Island is only one of the two islands, the other being Marion Island. Prince Edward Island is the smaller island, and is only about 17 square miles in area. With this small area, the only human inhabitants of the Islands are research and conservation staff to help maintain and protect the island. The islands have a cold climate and can experience snow at any point throughout the year, as the temperature does not change much from winter to summer.

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Rare Snow Sightings:

The town of Aïn Séfra, located in Algeria & within the Sahara Desert -- has experienced snowfall only a few rare times throughout history. The first recorded snowfall was in February of 1979. After this initial snowfall, there was not a single snowflake on the ground again until the early winters of 2017 and again in January of 2018. While the exact amount of snowfall is unknown (nobody took exact measurements), eyewitness reports ranged anywhere from a 1 to 15 inches! This unique sighting was magnificent, but also a major disruption to residential life. Aïn Séfra, typically one of the hottest places on Earth, did not manage well in ice covered roads. The weather caused plenty of wintery traffic. Nonetheless, snow blanketing the tan dunes of the Sahara desert left memories that will never be forgotten.

Oh, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

In 2013, a winter storm, “Alexa”, hit Cairo, Egypt for the first time in over 100 years. Because this was an exciting and unique sighting for the permanent residents of Cairo, many had fun building snow Sphinxes and Pyramids. However, the winter storm was a major issue for many in Cairo as well. The unexpected snowfall proved difficult for displaced Syrian refugees that were not properly prepared for the cold, winter conditions.

Ski Resorts in Africa:

Hoping to hit the slopes? You have a few options for ski resorts in Africa, ranging from northern Africa to Southern.

Oukaïmeden in Morocco:

Oukaïmeden Ski Resort sits in the Atlas Mountains and offers fantastic skiing at an altitude of 8,500 feet up to 10,500 feet. Oukaïmeden has seven ski lifts and six miles of downhill skiing. Oukaïmeden Ski Resort is the highest ski resort in the whole continent of Africa!

Michlifen Ski Resort in Morocco:

Michlifen Ski Resort is located near the Meknes-Tafilaet Region of Morocco and reaches an altitude of 6758 feet. This ski resort is small with only two chair lifts, and .5 miles of ski slopes. But hey, it’s snow!

Afriski Mountain Resort in Lesotho:

Afriski Mountain Resort sits in the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho and reaches an altitude of 10,571 feet. However, the base elevation is 9,570 feet, so this leaves the ski resort with slopes of only 1,000 feet high. Afriski’s longest ski slope is roughly .5 miles long, and the resort itself can accommodate up to 350 people. While it Afriski is a quaint ski resort, it is the only ski resort you can find in the country of Lesotho.

Tiffindell Ski Resort in South Africa:

Tiffindell Ski Resort sits on Mountain Ben Macdhui at an elevation of 9,846 feet high. It is the only ski resort in South Africa, While the ski resort is at a decently high elevation and on a mountain, it only receives some natural snowfall. Due to this dry condition, Tiffindell utilizes snow-making machinery in addition to help maintain the mountain and keep it open from June to August for skiing and snowboarding.

Ski Egypt:

Ski Egypt is Africa’s first indoor ski resort. Located in the Mall of Egypt, all you need to do is show up. Ski Egypt provides the equipment for you, from winter jackets to snow boots and all ski equipment! Skiing and snowboarding is available with five different runs to complete.

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Snowy Mountains in Africa:

To find large amounts of snow in Africa you must adventure to the top of one of its mountain peaks. Below are some of the tallest mountains in Africa.

Mountain	Country	Elevation	Temperature Range	Number of Glaciers
Mount Kilimanjaro	Tanzania	19,341 feet	0°F - 95°F	3 Glaciers
Mount Kenya	Kenya	17,057 feet	0°F - 77°F	11 Glaciers
Rwenzori Mountains	Uganda & D.R.Congo	16,762 feet	50°F - 90°F	.58 sq miles over 3 mountains
Simien Mountains	Ethiopia	14,872 feet	14°F - 64°F	No Glaciers‬
Mount Meru	Tanzania	14,968 feet	12°F - 95°F	‬No Glaciers

Each of the mountains above hold the highest peaks in Africa, with Uhuru Peak on Mount Kilimanjaro being the highest point in Africa. Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, and roughly 30,000 people travel the globe to hike this majestic mountain each year.

Kilimanjaro is 19,341 feet high. So, does it snow in Africa? It certainly does at 19,341 feet! In fact, there are a couple of glaciers atop Kilimanjaro, along with ice fields and seasonal snowfall. Read below for more specifics of snowfall on Kilimanjaro.

Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro:

Furtwangler Glacier:
If you go to hike Kilimanjaro and reach its summit, located in its arctic climate zone, then you will get the chance to see one of its glaciers, specifically, the Furtwangler Glacier. The Furtwangler Glacier has gotten its name from one of the first climbers to have summited the mountain, in the year of 1912. His name was Walter Furtwangler. The glacier has been atop Kilimanjaro for quite some time, but sadly has been melting away over the years, and is expected to be largely gone by the year 2040, and completely gone by the year 2060. The massive glacier at one point was an impressive 1,220,000 sq ft in area, and the latest records of 2018 show that it is now merely 120,000 sq ft in area.

Rebmann Glacier:
Similarly to the Furtwangler Glacier, the Rebmann Glacier is also atop Kilimanjaro, and has existed since the 1800s to the best of scientists knowledge. However, just as Furtwangler, the Rebmann Glacier has been quickly disappearing over the years. In fact, roughly 82% of the glacier has completely vanished.

Ice Fields:
The last large bodies of snow on Kilimanjaro are the ice fields. These are the northern ice field, the eastern ice field, and the southern ice field. The ice field that has the most reported information, is the northern ice field, which is also quite close to the summit, Uhuru Peak. The northern ice field was once connected to the eastern and southern ice fields. At one point, these ice fields had covered as much as 4.4 sq miles of Mount Kilimanjaro, now they cover just about .68 sq miles. That is a reduction of 85% of total square miles. Out of this total coverage of .68 square miles, the northern ice field is still the largest field of ice on Kilimanjaro. With all of these glaciers and icefields dissipating so rapidly, now is the time to venture to the top of Kilimanjaro to see these glaciers and large areas of ice and snow while it still exists.

Snowy Seasons on Kilimanjaro:

Hiking Kilimanjaro ultimately boils down to 4 main seasons, each offering different types of weather and experience while hiking, and some with the chance of encountering snow.

January Through March:
This is generally a great time to hike Kilimanjaro, as the hiking trails are in good condition due to the beginning of the dry season. In addition, you do stand a high chance of encountering snow or wet conditions as you ascend the mountain.

April and May:
These couple months are typically not a great time to hike Kilimanjaro, and will not result in much snow observance, but rather a lot of rain down below and incredibly slippery trails. While you may have been hoping to see snow, maybe instead head over to a safari as April and May are top months for the birthing of baby animals!

June Through October:
This is the peak season for hikinging Kilimanjaro; however, seeing snow along the journey during this season of Kilimanjaro is highly unlikely.

November and December:
These months are typically a more wet season to hike, but still doable. Kopa Tours recommends that if hiking during November or December, take the Rongai route as this side of the mountain is usually more dry and stable. If you hike during these months, you stand a good chance of encountering a decent amount of snow!

While many are inclined to hike Kilimanjaro during the peak season, one might consider to go off the beaten path and to experience stepping in the beautiful, crisp snow on Kilimanjaro, after all, who knows how long this chance will be around for.

Conclusion:

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So, does it snow in Africa? The short answer is rarely, but yes. Overall, you stand the best chance of snow sightseeing in South Africa, and Lesotho. There are ski resorts that you can hit up, and if you’re looking for an adventurous snow vacation, then why not to the Roof of Africa? Hike Kilimanjaro for the journey of a lifetime and to experience some tremendous snowfall in Africa. Then the next time one of your friends asks you, does it snow in Africa? You can proudly say yes!