For the first time in recorded history,snow fell in Baghdad. Though the snow quickly melted, the fact that it fell in the first place is enough to surprise any city resident or weather guru.

The morning of January 11 was cooler than normal, hovering around freezing. In fact, the weather caused the Baghdad airport to close, sighting poor visibility. Though residents of Northern Iraq are used to cold temperatures and weather conditions, the more southern Baghdad is a complete stranger to such occurrences.

Despite the strangeness of the snow, most of Baghdad rushed out to see the unfolding winter scene. Talib Haider, age 19, woke up at 8 am when a friend called to alert him to the falling flakes. He says that the scene was so beautiful, he tried to cement it into memory forever by filming it on his camera phone.

The cooling snow seemed to have a similar effect on area events; as of late afternoon, there had been no reports of violence. Indeed, both Shiites and Sunnis seemed to be more interested in observing this once-in-a-lifetime weather event than the fighting that too often occurs here. Perhaps the changing weather conditions aren’t such a bad thing after all.