March 17, 2010

As forecasted by the National Weather Service, which had issued an alert bulletin, sandstorms and severe snowfall battered most regions across the country last weekend.

Wind speeds reached 32-40 meters per second—powerful enough to destroy even sturdy shelters. No fatalities were reported, however.

Last Saturday, Dalanzadgad, the capital of Ömnögovi province, lost power due to the raging storm. Approximately 40 households in central Ömnögovi were severely affected, with their gers and shelters overturned.

Within two days, the eastern part of the country, including Dornod province, was blanketed with 15 centimeters of snow.

In Ulaanbaatar, heavy snowfall created treacherous driving conditions throughout the city. Snow that fell on Saturday melted during the day before freezing overnight, making travel nightmarish Sunday morning. Minor traffic accidents occurred across the city's slippery streets. One man died, and eight people were injured in the accidents.

The main roads connecting Ulaanbaatar to the countryside, which had been closed for fifteen hours, reopened Monday morning, allowing traffic to resume normally.

Charlène, Nomadays

As an early SEO writer at Nomadays, Charlène evolved into content manager and head of communications, accompanying the adventure with passion and unwavering dedication from its inception. After spending seven years living across Asia—from China to Thailand, passing through Mongolie and South Korea—she has made travel a way of being in the world. A lover of words, nature, and meaningful encounters, she endeavors to convey through her writing a thoughtful, engaged, and responsible vision of tourism. For her, each article is a bridge between curiosity, respect, and wonder.