Massive sand storm swallows Amman, flights diverted to Ben Gurion

Extreme weather patterns and strong winds whipped the Jordanian desert sands across the country, causing near blackout conditions in the nation's capital.
Itay Blumental, Roi Kais|
The extreme heat felt throughout Israel on Sunday is affecting the entire region as a whole, with one of the weather's hardest hit victims being Israel's neighbor to the east, Jordan.
The strong winds whipping across the kingdom's desert plains caused massive sand storms, forcing changes in the country's air traffic patterns.
The massive sand storm 
The storm prevented flights from landing at Amman International Airport, sending two Royal Jordanian flights to land at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport. Flights operated by other Arab carriers, which cannot land in Israel, were diverted to Aqaba.
5 View gallery
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
5 View gallery
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
5 View gallery
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
5 View gallery
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
5 View gallery
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
The massive sand storm in Amman
If the weather does not change in the next few hours, several Jordan-bound flights are expected to land at Ben-Gurion Airport.
The heavy heat wave hitting the region has spurred calls for a national holiday in Jordan. Concurrently, several areas in the country reportedly experienced rain.
In Israel, the National Electric Company's website showed that at 12pm Sunday, Israel passed 12 thousand mega-watt usages for the first time ever. The peak of electric usage after 3pm stood at 12,525 mega-watts. The previous record was marked in January 2015, at 11,930 mega-watts.
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