US First Lady Michelle Obama gestures as she speaks on the sidelines of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha on Wednesday.

AFP/Doha

Michelle Obama's trip to the Middle East was disrupted on Wednesday when her flight from Qatar to Jordan was postponed because of bad weather.

An official travelling with the US first lady told AFP that because of a "weather call", Obama remained in Qatar.

"Unfortunately due to a weather call in Amman, the departure of the first lady from Doha has been postponed," said the official.

Obama had been due to fly to Jordan on Wednesday afternoon but is now expected to stay in Qatar overnight and travel to Jordan on Thursday.

She arrived in Doha on Monday.

Parts of the Middle East, although not Qatar, were hit by sandstorms on Wednesday.

In recent days the region was also hit by a rare tropical cyclone, Chapala, which struck Yemen.  

The first lady is on a seven-day visit to the two countries.

She made a keynote speech to an education conference in Doha earlier on Wednesday hours before she was scheduled to leave for Jordan.

Related Story