The FINANCIAL — Many parts of the country were struck by a severe storm over the weekend, buffeting some regions with strong winds and torrential rainfall, according to Today's Zaman.
A bout of wintry weather hit the Marmara region over the weekend, with high winds uprooting trees and rain flooding some roads as temperatures fell across the nation. Sea transportation stopped due to the strong southwestern wind in northwestern Çanakkale province.
The wind, whose speed reached as high as 30 kilometers per hour, affected the province of Tekirdağ as well. Ferries to Karabiga and Erdek were cancelled. Thirty-one ships in the Sea of Marmara had to anchor near Şarköy, Tekirdağ province, due to the strong wind. Strong winds blew off the roofs of close to 500 buildings in the eastern province of Muş on Sunday. Five minarets fell over due to gale-force winds. Dozens of trees and lampposts were also downed by the storm.
The Eskihisar-Topçular ferries resumed service on Sunday after two days off due to the storm, İstanbul Ferry Lines (İDO) announced. The eastern part of the country has been gripped by snow since Friday. Due to heavy snowfall, 267 village roads in Erzurum province were closed to traffic, and some cities were hit by avalanches. Snow reached a depth of 50 centimeters on the Palandöken Mountain while the provincial capital was covered in seven centimeters. Two passenger buses were trapped by snow near Erzurum’s Çat district early on Sunday and were rescued a few hours later.
Erzurum (-2 degrees Celsius), Ardahan and Ağrı (-1) and Erzincan (2) saw the lowest temperatures on Sunday in eastern Turkey.
Snow arrives in western Turkey
The State Meteorology Bureau warned that heavy rainfall seen in western parts of Turkey over the weekend was expected to bring snow. State Meteorological Affairs General Director Mehmet Çağlar said snow is expected in İstanbul and Ankara starting early today. Stating that cold weather is expected to persist in the country throughout the week, he warned people about increased ice on the roads due to dropping temperatures.
On Bursa’s Uludağ, one of the country’s most important winter tourism centers, snowfall has exceeded a depth of 50 centimeters, with snowy weather expected to continue this week.
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