Rare snowfall hits the Sahara Desert

— -- Ain Sefra is a small town on the northern edge of the Sahara, the hottest desert in the world, but on Sunday the town's sand dunes were coated with snow after an intense winter storm.

Photographs from local residents showed stunning scenes of vivid orange dunes dusted with snowfall. Algerian locals wearing coats and scarves were seen climbing the peaks, cheering loudly and posing for videos. Many brought cameras to record the rare wintry phenomenon before the snow began to melt later in the evening.

This is believed to be only the fourth time snow has fallen on Ain Sefra in northern Algeria in almost 40 years, according to Algerian media reports.

In 1979 a short storm blanketed the region in heavy snow, and snow has returned in recent years.

Ain Sefra is known as “The Gateway to the Desert” because of its location on the edge of the Sahara, and temperatures reach well over 104 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer months. Nestled in the Atlas mountain range, the town is surrounded by hills and towering sand dunes, the highest of which appeared to be completely covered in snow.