A man slides down a hill after a rare snowfall in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. Temperatures dropped to below freezing Tuesday morning as snow flurries blew through South Africa's commercial hub Johannesburg, dusting the city in white as residents poured into the streets to watch the snowflakes fall. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — People have poured out of offices, pointed mobile phone cameras to the sky and opened their mouths to taste a rare snowfall now blanketing South Africa’s city of Johannesburg.
The snow started falling Tuesday morning, sending workers rushing outside. Some twirled and danced as the flakes fell. One man rushed to the top of a snow-covered hill and slid down, using a cardboard box as an improvised toboggan.
The snow grew heavier in the afternoon, covering rooftops and slicking roads.
Snowflakes are a rare commodity in Johannesburg, even as South Africa endures its winter months. The South African Weather Service says it has only snowed in Johannesburg 22 other days in the last 103 years. The service says snow last fell here in June 2007.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
