Turkey’s west hit by snow, strong winds

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s west had been enjoying a relatively warm weather free of precipitation over the past few weeks, but a cold wave with heavy downpours, snow and strong winds has returned and is disrupting daily life.

Following warnings from both meteorological and local authorities, western and northwestern provinces, in particular Istanbul, have been hit by adverse weather conditions such as snow, heavy rainfall and storm.

The fierce storm hit Istanbul, Kırklareli and Tekirdağ provinces late on Jan. 11, damaging a dozen buildings, with roofs blown away and trees lying toppled on the streets. No casualties or injuries were reported.

The strong gusts caused only structural damage to several apartments and a bunch of vehicles parked on roads in the northwestern provinces. Municipal crews removed fallen trees during the night and cleared the streets of debris.

Although meteorology experts warned of snowfall in Istanbul and other northwestern provinces for yesterday, only a slight layer of snow blanketed the high and distant districts of these cities.

The Istanbul Sea Bus Company (İDO) said it canceled some services, including lines between Istanbul and Bursa provinces. Istanbul’s City Lines also suspended some services because of strong winds.

The southwestern part of the country also suffered from storm and rain.

Reaching 50-75 kilometers of speed per hour, the winds created waves of seven or eight meters high in the sea, posing a danger to the fishermen in the Mediterranean province of Antalya’s Kaş district.

Meanwhile, last December was one of the warmest winter months in 51 years, according to latest data. The highest temperature was detected in the northern province of Kastamonu’s İnebolu district with 27.1 Celsius degrees.