First snowfall sweeps through western Turkey

The cold and rainy weather coming from the Balkans swept through all of Turkey early Monday morning.

Districts in the northwestern region of Thrace experienced their first snowfall, and with it the first transportation disruptions of the winter season.

Snowfall in Edirne began around 5 a.m. on Monday and, at the highest points of the province, reached 25 centimeters. This first snowfall of the season disrupted highway traffic significantly. Access through the Hamzabeyli border gate, enabling transportation from Edirne to Bulgaria, was closed at 6:45 a.m. due to heavy snowfall.

Some drivers, not heeding the meteorological warnings from days prior, remained on the roadways. Long lines of cars unable to navigate in the snow remained on the shoulders of the highways.

With the start of the snowfall, traffic teams began clearing away the snow and salting the international roadways. One-lane traffic was opened only two hours after the initial snowfall, as teams continued to clear the route so that all lanes could be opened.

According to meteorologists, the temperature in Kırklareli on Monday was between one and three degrees Celsius. The snow began to fall in Dereköy on Sunday evening and continued on Monday in the districts of Kofçaz, Babaeski, Vize, Pehlivanköy, Demirköy and Pınarhisar.

Meteorologists expected that snowfall would continue in Kırklareli and nearby towns through the end of Monday.

The cold and rainy weather coming from the Balkans swept through all of Turkey early Monday morning.

İstanbul (11 degrees Celsius), İzmir (14 degrees Celsius) and Ankara (14 degrees Celsius) experienced scattered storms and wet, windy weather, according to weather reports on Monday.

Meteorologists expect intermediate to strong windy weather to continue in southern and southwestern Turkey for the next few days.


/World Bulletin/