Winter Storm Alexa in the Middle East

Two Palestinian women play with snow outside the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, Dec. 12, 2013.

An ultra-Orthodox Jew takes a photograph of the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem, Dec. 12, 2013.

Children at Khao I Dang, May 1981. (Jack Dunford)

Dark clouds over Gaza City, Dec. 13, 2013. Early snow surprised many Israelis and Palestinians as a blustery storm, dubbed Alexa, brought gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snowfall to parts of the Middle East.

People play with snow after a heavy snowstorm in Amman, Dec. 13, 2013.

People play in the snow in Damascus as a blustery storm, dubbed Alexa, brought gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snowfall to most parts of Syria and the entire Middle East, Dec. 13, 2013.

A Palestinian woman walks by a snowman in the West Bank town of Nablus, Dec. 13, 2013.

An Indonesian soldier from the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon is seen during a snow fall in the southern Lebanese village of Adaisseh, Dec. 13, 2013.

Vehicles travel in the rain during the storm Alexa, Cairo, Dec. 13, 2013.