Heavy snow, cold hit eastern Turkey

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Schoolchildren in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa’s Siverek district push their school bus forward when the snow blocks their road. AA photo

Heavy snowfall that has wreaked havoc on eastern Turkey is now set to venture westward, bringing wintry misery to people in the western parts of the country by the end of the week.

Six people have died in traffic accidents due to ice on highways, while 67 have been injured, CNNTürk has reported.

Cold and snow that started on the night of Dec. 17 hit the eastern provinces of Elazığ, Kars and Gaziantep yesterday.

In Gaziantep, dozens of cars were stuck in the middle of road. Because the snow blocked roads and made driving impossible, people parked their cars on shoulders, going home on foot. Also, in Elazığ, elementary and high school classes were suspended for a day due to the heavy snowfall. In Kars, the temperature dropped to 26 degrees Celsius below zero, while water meters and tap waters froze.

Access to many villages was disrupted due to the heavy snowfall in the country’s east while a snowstorm and fog blocked air transport in the eastern province of Van.

Meanwhile, meteorologists forecast that the heavy snow will also hit northwestern regions of Turkey starting tomorrow.

According to the Meteorology Directorate General, sleet will begin falling in the northwestern provinces of Edirne and Kırklareli starting today due to cold and snowy weather approaching from the Balkans; snow, meanwhile, is expected in the region tomorrow.

The cold weather wave is especially forecast to bring down night temperatures.