Cold weather hits Turkey, Istanbul expects snowfall

ANKARA – Doğan News Agency

AA Photo

The General Directorate of Meteorology has announced that it expects snow on Dec. 16 in Istanbul, where temperatures are forecast to be below zero and under seasonal norms.

According to the latest forecasts, the northern and eastern parts of the country will be cloudy, while precipitation is expected in the east of the Marmara region, western Black Sea and southeastern Anatolia from the early morning hours. It is expected that the precipitation will mostly be a mix of rain and snow.

According to weather forecasts by the directorate, the temperature will be below seasonal norms throughout the country. The wind will generally be milder in the north and occasionally stronger around the Marmara, coastal parts of the Aegean, western Black Sea coast and in the west of eastern Anatolia, at 30 to 50 km/h.
Heavy snowfall is continuing to disrupt life in Turkey’s east, leading to highway and school closures. 

In Erzurum, drivers experienced difficulty driving on roads when the snow depth reached one meter. Many vehicles in parking lots were lost under snow. 

People, whose cars were stuck, tried to barge through snow-filled roads. Heavy snowfall in eastern Anatolia is expected to lessen on Dec. 16.

In the eastern province of Bitlis, heavy snowfall, which has been effective for two days, became very harsh.

The thickness of the snow was one meter, and it was 1.5 meters at higher elevations due to continuous precipitation in the previous period. Single-storey houses were buried in snow, while schools were closed in the districts of Tatvan, Mutki, Ahlat and Adilcevaz, while disabled and pregnant public workers were given administrative leaves.

In the eastern provinces of Erzurum, Kars, Ardahan, Malatya and Bayburt, snow days were extended for another day. In addition, schools were closed in the district of Doğubayazit in the eastern province of Ağrı, in the Erzincan districts of Tercan and Çayırlı, in the Trabzon districts of Düzköy, Köprübaşı, Hayrat, Şalpazarı and Tonya and in eastern Van province’s Erciş, Çatak, Bahçesaray and Başkale districts.

Schools were closed in many provinces across Turkey on Dec. 14 due to the harsh winter temperatures.