Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, was yesterday afternoon the recipient of a strange rainfall, accompanied with snow. The phenomenon immediately elicited anxiety, jubilation and surprise among residents of Uyo and environs.

Some Uyo elders who spoke to News Express described the snow fall as “strange and historic,” while others said it was “a sign of divine blessing to the people,” noting that it was “not a regular phenomenon” in the area.

However, while adults trapped by the rain scurried for shelter, children were seen trooping out from their homes, some of them running from one street to the other under the rain, picking the whitish substance which looked like small pieces of ice block, licking and swallowing them with excitement.

The hard substances, which however soon melted away, forced motorists to drive in slow motion.

A house wife and mother of four, Mrs. Ibetedem Udo, whose children were among those that ran after the snow, said she was “very surprised and excited, but privileged to witness the sudden and strange substance falling from the sky” for the first time in her life.

“We often heard about what our people call ‘stony rains’ falling in some advanced countries, like America or United Kingdom. As it has now started here, we may likely see more of the snow fall,” Mrs. Udo remarked.

The snow fall lasted for about 30 minutes and suddenly stopped, while the rain continued, and later subsided without much thunder or wind storm.