When does the Sahara get rainfall?

The northern thin fringe of the Sahara desert gets more winter cloudiness along with rainfall. This is because of the arrival of such low pressure systems from over the Mediterranean Sea. The attenuated and the rain shadow effects of the mountains and the subsequent annual average rainfall commonly ranges from 100 millimeters all the way up to 250.

Usually, the definition of a desert is a place that gets less than 10 inches or less than 25 centimeters of precipitation each year. We think of hot areas and we also think of rain, but precipitation can be through rain or through snow. Both hot or cold deserts are places quite lacking in precipitation.