By Evan Duffey, Meteorologist

Feb 4, 2012; 3:12 PM ET

Astronaut Photo of Algiers, Algeria taken from the International Space Station (ISS) during Expedition 23 on May 17, 2009. Wikipedia.

A rare accumulating snowfall is in progress in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria.

Cold air associated with a storm system currently moving into the region from the north is providing for some decent accumulations of snow in the north African country.

According to Accuweather Meteorologist Eric Wanenchak, most reports say the last time Algiers saw this kind of accumulation was at least seven years ago in 2005.

He said Algiers must fight a combination of limiting factors in order to see snowfall. First, the city is near the Mediterranean Sea, which is still quite warm, currently in the low 50s.

Second, they are at sea level, and lower elevations generally are warmer and mean more atmosphere that snow has to fall through.

Lastly, they are rather far south. By comparison, they are at a similar latitude as Virginia Beach.

While snow in Algiers is rare, snow to the south in the Atlas Mountains is not as rare. This event should bring significant accumulations to those mountains this weekend.

However, for Algiers, not too much more in the way of snow can be expected, as temperatures today will mean rain is more likely. Then tonight, a few snow showers are possible; however, the setup will be less prime compared to today.