Khamis Mushayt
History
Until the 1970s, Khamis Mushait was a small town of less than 50,000 servicing the surrounding mild-climate agricultural region. Since then its population has grown dramatically to reach over 1,200,000. The city is surrounded by farms producing agricultural crops.
King Khalid Air Base (KMX) has a 12,400 ft (3,780 m) paved runway without customs facilities. The base was designed and built by US Army and Air Force engineers in the 1960s and 70s and has F-15 service facilities. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US Airforce had a base here from which they launched bombers on Baghdad.
Khamis Mushait was known by that name since the 1760s, it has been named after the family name of al mushayt referring a man called mushayt who protected this city and+
like deem mushayt, mushayt it has been referred to Mushait Ibn Salem the head of Shahran tribe and the guardian of the market.
Climate
Khamis Mushait has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) bordering closely on a hot semi-desert climate (Köppen BSh).
Climate data for Khamis Mushait (King Khalid Air Base) (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 28.8 (83.8) |
30.6 (87.1) |
30.2 (86.4) |
33.0 (91.4) |
34.7 (94.5) |
37.3 (99.1) |
38.0 (100.4) |
36.0 (96.8) |
34.9 (94.8) |
33.5 (92.3) |
31.0 (87.8) |
28.6 (83.5) |
38.0 (100.4) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 21.8 (71.2) |
23.5 (74.3) |
24.8 (76.6) |
27.2 (81.0) |
30.3 (86.5) |
32.3 (90.1) |
32.1 (89.8) |
32.0 (89.6) |
30.8 (87.4) |
27.3 (81.1) |
24.6 (76.3) |
22.8 (73.0) |
27.5 (81.5) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 14.7 (58.5) |
16.3 (61.3) |
18.1 (64.6) |
20.1 (68.2) |
22.7 (72.9) |
24.9 (76.8) |
24.5 (76.1) |
24.0 (75.2) |
23.5 (74.3) |
20.1 (68.2) |
17.1 (62.8) |
15.2 (59.4) |
20.1 (68.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 8.6 (47.5) |
10.2 (50.4) |
12.2 (54.0) |
14.1 (57.4) |
16.3 (61.3) |
18.2 (64.8) |
18.4 (65.1) |
17.9 (64.2) |
16.5 (61.7) |
13.3 (55.9) |
10.7 (51.3) |
8.7 (47.7) |
13.8 (56.8) |
Record low °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) |
2.4 (36.3) |
4.5 (40.1) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.8 (51.4) |
12.0 (53.6) |
8.3 (46.9) |
11.2 (52.2) |
11.8 (53.2) |
8.2 (46.8) |
2.6 (36.7) |
1.9 (35.4) |
1.0 (33.8) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 4.9 (0.19) |
8.6 (0.34) |
19.3 (0.76) |
35.7 (1.41) |
34.4 (1.35) |
10.4 (0.41) |
22.5 (0.89) |
29.4 (1.16) |
3.4 (0.13) |
4.8 (0.19) |
5.6 (0.22) |
1.1 (0.04) |
180.0 (7.09) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 22.6 |
Source: NOAA |
Notable landmarks
Khamis Mushayt has several souks, including Khamis Souk and Silver Souq, both of which are noted for their silver jewellery, and Spice Souk. Notable hotels include Mushayt Palace Hotel and Trident Hotel. Also of note is Al-Hayat Hospital and Khamis Mushayt Mosque.
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Al-Hayat Hospital
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Statue of coffee in Heritage area of Khamis Mushait
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King Fahd Mosque