Eastern district under cold spell, hits minus 26.4 degrees

ARDAHAN

The winter has revealed its true colors in Turkey’s east as the eastern province of Ardahan’s Göle district has become the coldest place in the country as of Dec. 7, recording a temperature of minus 26.4 degrees Celsius.

Spending time mostly indoors, residents of Göle, which turned into a “white zone,” tried to secure their vehicles from freezing by putting blankets on them.

The temperature in Ardahan’s city center dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius, followed by the eastern province of Erzurum with minus 15 degrees Celsius.

Serving notice to the country’s east for more days of cold weather and frost, the Turkish State Meteorological Service issued “yellow” and “orange” warnings for 35 out of all 81 provinces.

“The provinces in the Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea regions will witness rainfalls and downpours. Strong winds will emerge in the Central Anatolia and the eastern provinces,” the statement said.

A “yellow alert” is issued when there is a “potential threat by a weather event.”

Meteorologists rarely issue “orange alert,” which signifies a possibility of damage and loss in a “dangerous weather situation.”