Sudden drop in temperature stalls daily life in Turkey

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

DHA photo

A surprise cold snap accompanied by rain, sleet and snow arrived from the Balkans in Turkey after weeks of unseasonably warm weather, causing major traffic congestions across Turkey.

A strong storm uprooted trees throughout Istanbul and forced the city’s ferry transportation firm İDO to announce ferry services on some routes between the Asian side and European side of the city had been halted due to strong southwestern winds

Violent weather caused property damage in Istanbul, with heavy rains and strong winds displacing electricity pylons and tearing off the roofs of some houses. Heavy rainfall also caused flooding on many streets around Istanbul. The western province of İzmir faced one of the strongest winds seen in the country as well as flooding on its coastal road Kordon, which dragged some cars.

Temperatures dropped dramatically in cities across Turkey, with some areas recording an immediate fall between 5 and 10 degrees Celcius. Ankara and the northwestern province of Edirne saw the first snowfall of the season yesterday. Turkey’s Meteorological Services (DMİ) issued a warning for strong winds, heavy rainfall and possible flooding on their website for the southeastern, eastern and southern provinces.